Here, on the verge of Election Day, the last thing Lamar Jackson cares about is his candidacy. The Ravens’ superstar quarterback is the NFL’s midseason Most Valuable Player, but the praise and the plaudits do not seem to matter much. Jackson has his own vision to enact in January and February, and a third MVP trophy is incidental to that plan.

That does not mean the Ravens themselves are reluctant to tout his credentials. There’s an unofficial get-out-the-vote operation in Baltimore. Perhaps you know a couple of its more famous boosters.

“He’s quarterbacking better than anybody in the league,” tight end Mark Andrews said Sunday. “MVP, for sure.”

“He’s an engine that makes this thing go,” running back Derrick Henry said. “MV3.”

Through nine games, the last a 41-10 romp over the Denver Broncos (5-4) at M&T Bank Stadium, Jackson’s brilliance has been a unifier. Love him or hate him, defend his playoff struggles or laugh at ’em, there can be no debate on either side of the aisle this season: No one in football is playing better.

Jackson’s weekly mastery has a softening effect on his true masterpieces, dimming their brilliance and relegating them to just another snippet in his ever-growing highlight reel, but his performance Sunday stood out, even for him. Against a Broncos defense that had led the NFL in yards per play allowed entering Week 9, Jackson went 16-for-19 for 280 yards and three touchdowns. His perfect passer rating (158.3) was the fourth of his NFL career, tying Ben Roethlisberger for the most in league history.

That Jackson did it all after a limited week of practice was all the more remarkable. He missed Wednesday’s and Thursday’s sessions to rest minor back and knee injuries, returned Friday as a full participant and, two days later, diced up one of the NFL’s best secondaries.

“What ‘L’ has to do to get him ready to play, that’s what he’s going to do,” Henry said. “He showed it today. He needed one day to have a perfect passer rating. Whatever he needs to do to be able to go play, that’s what he has to do. I feel like it doesn’t matter if it’s one day or half a day, he’s going to be ready.”

Added Jackson: “I just knew what the assignment was. I definitely studied those guys.”

When Jackson won MVP honors in 2019 and again last year, he was not the favorite in early November. His momentum snowballed over the season’s second half, cresting with dominant finishing kicks from dominant Ravens teams.

This year, Jackson is ahead of his MVP pace — and ahead of everyone else. He’s first in the NFL in a bunch of old-school stats: total yards (2,884), yards per attempt (9.3), passer rating (120.7), according to TruMedia. He’s first in a handful of per-play stats: touchdown rate (7.8%), touchdown-to-interception ratio (10:1), first downs per pass attempt (44.7%). And he’s first in pretty much every analytically minded stat: expected points added per drop-back (0.35), EPA per pass attempt (0.40), EPA per play (0.31).

Through nine games, Jackson has completed 68.2% of his passes for 2,379 yards, 20 touchdowns and two interceptions, and he’s rushed 84 times for 505 yards (most among NFL quarterbacks) and two touchdowns. As a passer, Jackson’s on pace for a career-high 4,494 yards. As a runner, after rushing just three times for 4 yards Sunday, he’s on pace for 954. With a slight second-half uptick on the ground, Jackson could become the first player in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season.

“I just feel like he’s playing point guard out there,” safety Kyle Hamilton said. “He’s not always looking for his shot. He’s trying to get other guys involved. Obviously, it helps when 22 [Henry] is running the ball and 43 [running back Justice Hill] is doing his thing, and the O-line is playing well and everything, but I think he’s facilitating at a high level right now. At the same time, it’s kind of funny; he could be hurting the defense on the ground, too, if he really wanted to, which I don’t think he does. I think it only comes out when it needs to, but I think he can sit back there all day and affect the game just as much as he can running the ball.”

Maybe no team asks more of its quarterback than the Ravens (6-3) ask of Jackson — when he showed up on the injury report with a back injury, the jokes practically wrote themselves — but his burden could be shrinking. The Ravens’ offensive line is coming together, slowly but surely. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who wasn’t targeted in his Ravens debut, will give the offense another downfield threat. Running back Keaton Mitchell will be back soon, too, maybe as early as Thursday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Jackson’s job will never be easy, but it could be easier over the next eight games.

The only thing missing from his MVP case is something he can’t control. It’s also something most of the other top contenders do have, in a strange twist: a reliable defense. Bills quarterback Josh Allen gets a Buffalo unit that entered Sunday ranked seventh in adjusted efficiency, according to FTN. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes goes to work every game with a Kansas City defense that ranked fourth. Quarterback Jared Goff watched Detroit lose star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson in Week 5, but still the Lions ranked third.

The Ravens? They were 18th, their secondary in such shambles after last Sunday’s loss to the Cleveland Browns that safety Marcus Williams’ starting-job security had become an open question across Baltimore. Losses derail MVP campaigns, no matter who’s most responsible for them, and a disappearing defense can become an albatross for even the strongest candidates.

On Sunday, however, Jackson was once again all anyone could talk about. The Ravens got enough help from coordinator Zach Orr’s unit (and from Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix) to turn the game into a laugher in the third quarter. Jackson bowed out midway through the fourth, before the “M-V-P” chants could start ringing out.

By now, the numbers and the film and the testimonials speak for themselves. Loudly. Jackson is the best player on an offense averaging more yards per play (7.1) than any team since 2000 has ever finished a season with. He is the unflinching fulcrum of a unit with few peers in NFL history.

“He’s dangerous with his arm, and I think he showed that today,” Henry said. “If you want to take away him running the ball, [he’ll] go over your head and throw it. If he has to run it, he’ll do that as well.”

Added wide receiver Nelson Agholor: “He’s an awesome football player and ultimate quarterback. I just love that he just goes out there and he just sees the game. He sees everybody, tries to find the best matchup, the best open player. He’s in full control of it.”

Full control of the offense. Full control of his narrative. Full control of the Ravens’ season. If it ends with more individual awards, so be it. For now, “MV3” is the expectation. But Super Bowl LIX is still the dream.