Is Lamar Jackson Playing Today? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Ravens vs. Bengals)

The latest injury update for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in Week 15 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson missed Wednesday's practice with an injury once again, but he returned to action later in the week and is set to play against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15.

Jackson has been banged up with hamstring and knee issues this season, and it's clearly impacted his play on the field in recent weeks. The star quarterback has thrown just two touchdowns over his last five games, making him a risky player to trust in the prop market in this matchup.

Oddsmakers at DraftKings have the Ravens set as 2.5-point road favorites on Sunday, but they lost badly at home to the Bengals not that long ago on Thanksgiving. So, Jackson and company need to play much better in Week 15 to keep their chances in the AFC North division alive. The Ravens are one game back of the Pittsburgh Steelers with four games to play, but they lost to Pittsburgh outright in Week 14.

Jackson struggled against Cincy on Thanksgiving, throwing for 246 yards, no scores and a pick while completing just 53.1 percent of his passes. He also ran for 27 yards, but the star quarterback hasn't been nearly as big of a threat rushing the ball this season.

Since Jackson has followed a similar practice regiment each week, oddsmakers have not shifted the odds in this game much since they opened with the Ravens as 2-point favorites.

However, even with Jackson playing, SI's NFL betting insider Iain MacMillan thinks that the Bengals are the team to bet in this game and shared why in his Road to 272 column earlier this week:

We have to stop evaluating the Ravens as if they're the same Baltimore team that was one of the best in the NFL a season ago. The Ravens now rank 15th in DVOA, not playing particularly well on either side of the ball. One of their biggest issues has been the subpar play by Lamar Jackson. He's just 15th this season in EPA+CPOE, which is two spots below Jaxson Dart and one below Marcus Mariota.

The Ravens just lost to the Bengals two weeks ago on their home field, and now they have to hit the road to take on a Bengals team that still has a chance at winning the division. I trust this Bengals team to at least keep this game tight with Joe Burrow at quarterback.

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