Tyler Huntley Preparing 'As If I’m Going to Be the Starter'

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Tyler Huntley is running with the Ravens' first-team offense for a second straight week as Lamar Jackson remains sidelined.

Jackson has not practiced since spraining his ankle Week 14 against the Browns. and it looks like Huntley will get his second straight for the critical AFC North matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.

"[I’m] just preparing as if I’m going to be the starter," Huntley said. "So, I’m treating it like [it’s] not a different week.”

In two career starts, Huntley has thrown for 434 yards and produced four total touchdowns (two passing and two rushing). His 434 yards and four total touchdowns are the most by a Ravens’ homegrown quarterback in the first two starts of a career.

Getting the first-team reps in practice has been especially beneficial.

"You can’t just talk about football; you have to actually do reps and get the actual feeling of a game," Huntley said. "[No.] 2, I feel like it’s getting more confidence in my teammates and my coaches that I could help them in a way that they needed. And I just try my best to just help the Ravens win – that’s all.

“I feel like it’s a great thing that I’m getting a lot of reps, [and] last week I got a lot of reps. So, it’s just a good thing that I’m actually in the gameplan. And going on the road, we played at the Bears, Browns, so I feel like you can’t really listen to the crowd or anything. You’re just out there playing; you don’t even hear the crowd," he said.

The Ravens and Bengals are both 8-6, but Cincinnati holds the tiebreaker based on a 41-17 victory in Week 7. Baltimore's playoff hopes could hinge on getting a win on Sunday.

“Shoot, I feel like every game in the NFL is important," Huntley said. "Not just this game, but the rest of the remainder of the games, we have to win to give ourselves the best opportunity to make the playoffs. And then once we get to the playoffs, it’s do or die each game. So, I feel like it’s a big game, but we’ve just got to treat it as a regular one and just do what we’ve got to do to get a win.”

The Bengals have a fierce front seven. Defensive end Trey Hendrickson is a game-wrecker with 13 sacks and Sam Hubbard has managed 7.5 sacks.

Cincinnati sacked Jackson fives times in that first meeting. Huntley is preparing for the pressure.

“They’ve got two edge rushers that are pretty good," Huntley said. "They just try to hug rush, try to surround the quarterback and just close the pocket in. So, we’ve just got to do a good job of … Our [offensive] line has been playing great. I don’t know which week it started, but they’re playing great. So, I feel like they’re going to step up to the task this week.”