Ravens Playoff Hopes Rest On Lamar Jackson 'Staying Healthy'
The Baltimore Ravens are perhaps one of the most intriguing teams entering next season. With a new offensive scheme under Todd Monken and weapons in Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers coming during the offseason, Baltimore has every reason to be optimistic about the season ahead.
However, one thing that would concern them is Lamar Jackson's injury history as he has missed 10 games through injury in the last two seasons. The Ravens had an 8-4 record and were leading the AFC North before Jackson went down last year and went one-and-done in the postseason.
His importance to the team can't be understated and as such, NFL.com's Adam Rank thinks that the Ravens playoff hopes start and end with Jackson being healthy for the year ahead.
"We've seen what he means to this team and how different the Ravens look when he's not on the field," Rank wrote. "He's missed five games in each of the last two seasons. The Ravens were in first place in the AFC North in 2021 when Jackson suffered an ankle injury in Week 14. They finished in last place in the division that year. The Ravens again floundered without him late last season but still managed to make the playoffs.
"Since Jackson became the starter in 2018, the Ravens have gone 45-16 with him and 4-8 without him in regular-season games. Baltimore has averaged 28 points per game with him, which would rank second in the NFL during that span (compared to 17.2 points without him). The team needs him to stay healthy."
There has been a lot of hype for what the Ravens under Monken could look like next season given the weapons at his disposal. Tight end Mark Andrews remains the focal point, but we then add in the returning Rashod Bateman, Devin Duvernay, Nelson Agholor, OBJ, and Flowers, suddenly, Baltimore can get you from anywhere on the field.
Of course, this won't mean much if Jackson isn't healthy enough to take advantage of the weapons around him.
With Jackson starting last season, Baltimore scored 20+ points in nine of 11 games and once Lamar was out injured, the Ravens didn't score more than 17 in the remaining six.
If the Ravens harbor any hope of making a deep playoff run and potentially getting to a Super Bowl, Jackson has to remain healthy for the entire season.
The best ability is availability.
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