National Football League

Will Ravens-Niners matchup determine the NFL MVP between Purdy, McCaffrey, Jackson?

Updated Dec. 19, 2023 4:50 p.m. ET

Week 16 of the NFL season will be headlined by a marquee Monday night matchup between the league's two best teams: the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. And while both teams stand atop the league as Super Bowl favorites, each team also possesses an MVP-favorite quarterback.

"I think it's a nice little precursor to the Super Bowl," former NFL receiver Victor Cruz said on Tuesday's edition of "The Carton Show." "I think the winner of this game determines which quarterback wins MVP."

Brock Purdy currently stands ahead of Lamar Jackson as the MVP favorite. The Niners' second-year quarterback leads the league in QBR (76.0) and passing touchdowns (29) while trailing only Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa as the front-runner in passing yards (3,795).

Meanwhile, Jackson is having a spectacular season of his own and is on pace to become the first signal-caller in league history to finish with over 3,700 passing yards and 900 rushing yards in a season.

Both quarterbacks have led their teams to league-best 11-3 records to occupy the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences.

However, the potential Super Bowl matchup will also feature another name involved in the MVP conversation — San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey.

"This [MVP race] is coming down to three players in my opinion," "Undisputed" co-host Keyshawn Johnson said Tuesday. "Three players on one night — Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey and Brock Purdy — whoever wins the game, and how well they played in the game, will solidify the MVP."

McCaffrey, who leads the league in rushing yards (1,292) and all-purpose yards (1,801), has been a key component in San Francisco's offensive juggernaut. Outside of Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill, he is the only non-QB position player in the league's top-10 MVP candidates.

The last running back to be named MVP was Adrian Peterson in 2012.

"If you don't like Christian McCaffrey, you don't like the position of running back," Johnson emphasized. "You gotta be blind to not see his ability and what he's able to do."

"So, [the winner] comes down to Monday [night's outcome] for me."

Regardless of the result, Monday night's highly anticipated matchup is bound to be an exciting bout between two of the NFL's heavyweights.

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