Much like most of the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens are coming off of a frustrating and disappointing weekend following a loss—though they are the only ones to lose to another AFC North team, falling to the Cleveland Browns in a game in which quarterback Lamar Jackson was forced out of the game with an ankle injury.
That leaves Baltimore at 8-5 on the season now, losers of two in a row and three of their last five—four of their last seven after beginning the year 5-1. Like the Steelers, they have a tough schedule remaining, with the Green Bay Packers next, followed by the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams before wrapping up against the Steelers. Safe to say that they need all hands on deck, especially in consideration of all the hands they’ve already lost.
They have good news on that front, however, as it appears Jackson’s ankle injury is not serious, merely a low sprain, and there is a good chance that he doesn’t miss any time at all. Backup Tyler Huntley has actually represented himself well, to his credit, in 161 snaps played this year, but you don’t want to face Aaron Rodgers with your backup.
“Lamar has an ankle sprain. It’s not a high-ankle sprain, which is good news”, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters during his pre-game press conference yesterday. “We’ll just have to see what it is from there, how he feels this week going forward and what it looks like”.
Jackson was injured on the first play of the second quarter on a five-yard pass to Mark Andrews, by which point Baltimore was already trailing 10-0. He was clipped on the ankle by rookie linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah after getting the ball out.
He had completed four of four passes up to that point, albeit for just 17 yards. Huntley came in and completed 27 of 38 pass attempts, throwing one touchdown to Andrews, who caught 11 passes on 11 targets for 115 yards on the day. Huntley also rushed for 45 yards.
“The plans are right now, in my mind, for Lamar to be out there”, Harbaugh said as the Ravens prepare for the Packers. “So, we’ll see where it goes this week. If he can go, he’ll go. If not, Tyler will be the quarterback. So, that’s where we’re at”.
Meanwhile, the Packers are 10-3 on the season (10-2 when Rodgers is playing). Rodgers is 276-for-410 for 3,219 yards, with 27 touchdown passes to only four interceptions, once again leading the league with the lowest interception ratio in the NFL, now his fourth season in a row and the seventh time in his career.
And both of the Ravens’ starting cornerbacks, plus one of their starting safeties, are on the Reserve/Injured List. They are going to have to score points when Aaron Rodgers and company come to down, and Jackson obviously gives them the best chance to do that.
