Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson re-entered the NFL MVP conversation by firing three touchdown passes on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
NFL MVP odds frontrunner Josh Allen had a tough day, including a possible injury to his throwing hand. The betting public responded, and Jackson is closer on the NFL odds board than he has been in a month.
Read on as I take a closer look at the NFL MVP odds as we head into Week 17.
NFL MVP odds
| Player |  |
|---|---|
 Josh Allen |
-600 |
 Lamar Jackson |
+425 |
 Saquon Barkley |
+1000 |
 Jared Goff |
+2000 |
 Joe Burrow |
+6000 |
 Sam Darnold |
+7000 |
 Baker Mayfield |
+7500 |
 Patrick Mahomes |
+7500 |
An uneven game followed by a potential hand injury to Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen might have opened the door a smidgeon for Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson.
The betting public followed and allowed Jackson to further separate himself from Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley and inch closer to Allen on the NFL MVP odds board.
Lamar Jackson season to date
Jackson has thrown for the second-most passing yards (3787) and a league-leading 37 touchdown passes with an additional 765 rushing yards and four trips to the house.
The Ravens signal-caller fired three scoring strikes Saturday afternoon in a huge 34-17 home victory over the Steelers.
The public response was slow, but interest in Jackson spiked (+425) after watching Allen's Week 16 struggles paired with a potential injury to his throwing hand suffered Sunday against the New England Patriots.
Jackson began the season at +900 to land his third career regular-season MVP. His odds to win have dipped as low as +1860 on September 24 and, until November 12, was a slight betting odds favorite (+101).
Since then, Jackson’s NFL MVP odds have risen and fallen. He did ultimately remove Patrick Mahomes from the conversation and has put Barkley (+1000) in his rearview mirror.
With two games remaining on the regular season schedule, Jackson is closer in the betting odds than he’s been since Allen accounted for six touchdowns in a December 8 away loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Looking ahead
There is a path, albeit a narrow one, for Jackson to sneak in and win his second consecutive trophy.
Baltimore would love to win the AFC North and can run the table at Houston and at home vs. the Browns.
Both are winnable games for Baltimore. Jackson can buttress his case by producing a monster game against a stout Texans defense and an always-tough season finale against rival Cleveland.
Jackson has had success against both. He is 3-0 lifetime against the Texans and 7-4-0 against the Browns.
If Jackson has big games over the final two weeks and Allen's prognosis proves negative, the Ravens QB could rise back to the top of the mountain.
