Heading into a week 17 matchup versus the Miami Dolphins that could clinch the Baltimore Ravens the #1 seed and home-field advantage in the AFC, Lamar Jackson took a little bit of time during his media availability this week to dish on Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who Lamar shared he cast a Heisman Trophy vote for back in 2018 when Tagovailoa was still at Alabama.

Although Lamar Jackson didn't specify what year he cast his vote for Tua Tagovailoa, it's easy enough to deduce that the vote likely came in 2018, when Tua finished 2nd in the Heisman Trophy voting behind Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray. Two years later, just months after Lamar Jackson's 2019 MVP campaign had wrapped, the Miami Dolphins selected Tagovailoa with the 5th overall pick in the NFL Draft, and now Jackson and Tagovailoa are quarterbacking the two top teams in the AFC.

Following Baltimore's Christmas Day win over the San Francisco 49ers, Lamar Jackson has seemingly all but wrapped up the 2023 MVP… at least from a narrative perspective. The MVP feels like a narrative-based award more now than it ever has, and Tua Tagovailoa represents the last possible roadblock between Lamar Jackson and the second MVP award of his career. But Tua's numbers and narrative could send him past Lamar in the MVP rankings if the Dolphins can go to Baltimore and secure a win over the Ravens.

At the moment, Tagovailoa leads the league in passing yards, he's 2nd in passer rating, and is 6th in passing touchdowns. More importantly, Tua's narrative — the comeback quarterback of the league's most potent and exciting offense — is potentially juicy enough to top everyone else's, including Lamar's.