Ravens Can't Endure Another Losing Streak Without Lamar Jackson
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Lamar Jackson reportedly suffered a sprained posterior cruciate ligament, which means he could be out between one and three weeks.
The Ravens (8-4) next three opponents are the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-7), Cleveland Browns (5-7) and Atlanta Falcons (5-8).
"He’s been through the MRIs, and I would say it’s kind of week-to-week," coach John Harbaugh said about Jackson. "It’s going to be a weekly thing, so as the week goes on, we’ll see for this week. It’s probably less likely for this week, but it’s not impossible. Then after that, it will become more and more likely.”
The Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals sit atop the AFC North at 8-4. However, Baltimore owns the tiebreaker after beating Cincinnati 19-17 in Week 5.
There's not much separation between the teams and the Ravens cannot afford to slip over the final five games. Baltimore and Cincinnati have a showdown in the regular-season finale that could decide the division.
Last year, Jackson suffered a season-ending ankle injury and the Ravens lost their final four games without him in the lineup and missed the playoffs after finishing 8-9.
Baltimore lost six consecutive games overall to end the season after starting the year at 8-3. The Ravens lost five of their last six games by a total of eight points.
For now, the Ravens will move forward with Tyler Huntley. Last year as the starter, Huntley went 1-3, completing 64.9 percent of his passes for 1,081 yards, with three touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran for 294 yards with another two scores.
Jackson and Huntley are dual-threat quarterbacks so the Ravens won't have to dramatically alter the game plan.
Huntley had over a 100 quarterback rating in this year's preseason so it appears he is evolving as a playmaker.
"Both guys play a similar game," Harbaugh said. "We run the same basic offense with both players, so it’s not really going to change anything in terms of preparation [Huntley] is a player that has a lot of dynamics to his game — he can throw, he can run, he operates really well."
The Ravens will need better results this time around.
