Can Lamar Jackson repeat? Complete list of back-to-back NFL MVP winners

The Baltimore Ravens are flying high after a 31-2 smackdown of the Houston Texans on Christmas Day. It was a statement performance all around, but Lamar Jackson was especially ... well, special. The reigning MVP completed 10-of-15 passes for 168 yards and two scores, adding another 87 yards and one touchdown on the ground.

Jackson now has a career-high 39 passing touchdowns on the season with another game still left on the docket. He has only thrown four interceptions, completing 67.9 percent of his passes (also a career high). The 27-year-old leads the NFL in TD passes, yards per pass attempt (8.9) and QBR (77.6). If we're making MVP cases, few are more accomplished.

None of that even takes into account that Jackson is the most explosive running quarterback in the NFL, with all due respect to Josh Allen, his primary MVP challenger. Jackson is endlessly elusive and lightning-quick in the open field, averaging 6.6 yards per scramble (the best in the NFL, again). He has 852 rushing yards and four additional touchdowns through 16 starts.

After three straight wins, Baltimore is first place in the AFC North and a full game ahead of second-place Pittsburgh, with a tiebreaker to spare. Jackson has been every bit as dominant as he was during last season's MVP campaign, which means the two-time MVP could repeat, adding his third such trophy to an expanding collection.

That would put Jackson in highly exclusive company all time.

Complete list of back-to-back NFL MVP winners: Lamar Jackson approaching history

If he repeats as MVP, Jackson will become just the sixth player in NFL history to accomplish that feat, joining the company of five current or future Hall of Fame members.

Brett Favre is the only NFL player to win three straight MVP awards. Peyton Manning is the only player to win back-to-back MVPs on two separate occasions, and he currently holds the all-time record with five MVPs under his belt.

There will, of course, be folks who question Jackson's place among the all-time greats, as it's often difficult to accept a player's greatness in the moment. I can't help but look at the NBA, and folks wondering whether Nikola Jokic "deserves" a fourth MVP when several legendary big men never accomplished that feat (spoiler: he does). Jackson has long been a lightning rod for criticism from certain sectors of the NFL fandom. A lot of very dumb discourse has followed him around.

It's past time for folks to recognize Jackson for what he is, one of the best players this generation has seen. The lack of a postseason track record merits mentioning, especially when putting his entire career in context, but he's also 27. This is only the first or second chapter of what should be a long and illustrious career. Jackson has time to reach the mountaintop, and the MVP, by the way, is a regular season award. So the playoffs don't really matter for this specific argument.

Jackson isn't a shoo-in for the award, as Allen's case in Buffalo is mighty strong, but make no mistake about it: If Jackson does take home his second straight MVP trophy, it will be wholly deserved and 100 percent justified.