Get through the bye week. That was what every pundit, and even the Baltimore Ravens themselves, advertised. Sitting at 1-5 with a litany of injuries, the Ravens’ path to getting back in the AFC North race was Week 7’s precious time off. To get healthy and return QB Lamar Jackson, who has been out since injuring his hamstring during a Week 4 loss. While Baltimore indeed has a healthier roster, it’s missing its most valuable player. Jackson will miss tomorrow’s game against the Chicago Bears as he continues to recover.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news Saturday afternoon.
Jackson is expected back for Week 9’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, a short turnaround for a Thursday night contest.
The signs were already bubbling of Jackson missing another game. Held out Monday, limited Wednesday and Thursday, he practiced fully on Friday. But per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, that was only with the scout team, an indication Jackson wasn’t getting starting reps with the first-team offense and would miss Sunday’s contest.
UPDATE (12:53 PM): The Ravens have retracted its Friday designation, now noting Jackson was limited instead of full.
UPDATE (4:28 PM): The Ravens issued a statement clarifying the change in Jackson’s status for Sunday’s game.
In the statement, the Ravens stated that while Jackson was listed as a full participant, he didn’t take any starters snaps in practice Friday, they conferred with the league office and decided to change his status for the game.
As Schefter notes, Tyler “Snoop” Huntley will start. A change from the team’s original plan, turning to Cooper Rush, who struggled during the Ravens’ two losses with him at the helm. Over that span, Baltimore posted just 13 combined points with Rush throwing zero touchdowns and four interceptions. Huntley will get the nod—the man who replaced Jackson during previous injury-marred seasons.
Ahead of the bye, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh painted a rosy picture of Jackson’s outlook. An expectation that Jackson would return for the Bears game. And, as many analysts outlined, a chance to run the table and get back into the divisional race. Patient oddsmakers defied history and banked on a weaker division, coupled with improving Baltimore health, to close the gap on the division-leading Steelers. Many oddsmakers still have the Ravens as division favorites.
Another loss to a hot Chicago team should dash those embers. Any optimism would border on delusion if Baltimore loses and drops to 1-6. Since the league expanded to a 16-game season in 1978, 180 teams have begun a season 1-6 or worse. Only two of them finished with a winning record, the 2021 Miami Dolphins and 2022 Detroit Lions, and none of them made the postseason. Even in an AFC that looks comparatively weak to its NFC counterpart, the Ravens’ path shrivels up.
That’s without even considering what the Bears have done. Chicago has won four-straight games for the first time since 2018 under new head coach Ben Johnson and an offense that has come alive. The Bears rank 10th in scoring offense, and the defense is settling in after a difficult start to the season.
Baltimore could still win, but it’s a lot harder than it was thought to be. The Ravens’ plan to use the bye week to cure all the team’s problems is up in smoke. The Ravens will have to win without Lamar Jackson, something they’ve done little of throughout his career.
