newsweek
The Baltimore Ravens find themselves in a precarious position after squandering a 13-0 halftime lead and falling 35-13 to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The defeat marked their second consecutive loss, both within the AFC North and both without star quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is sidelined with a high ankle sprain.
Baltimore controlled the first half, outgaining Cincinnati 258-59, but the game flipped after halftime. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw four touchdown passes in the second half as Cincinnati scored 35 unanswered points to complete the comeback. The loss dropped the Ravens to 4-3 and into last place in the AFC North, with the Browns, Steelers, and Bengals all winning.
More concerning for Baltimore is the absence of Jackson, the two-time NFL MVP. With a daunting matchup against the 5-1 Buffalo Bills looming on Sunday, ESPN's "Get Up" panel unanimously agreed Monday morning that the Ravens desperately need Jackson back under center.
NFL insider Adam Schefter expressed cautious optimism: "I'm gonna go on a limb here: between them losing, between them playing in Buffalo, between him missing the previous three games. I would think he's going to play this week in Buffalo. But with him, he ultimately is not going to play until he feels like he's fully ready to do that. I think it'll be this week, but let's see how the practice week goes."
Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky was more blunt: "Their season's on the line. He's got to play. You're going at Buffalo. You've lost two straight games. The conference is very top-heavy. If he doesn't play, your season's on life support."
Domonique Foxworth, a former Ravens cornerback, noted the shifting sentiment around the team: "The feelings around his team have shifted. I remember the offseason. He was coming to the voluntary workouts, something he had never done before. We're like, he loves the new coach. Everything's going well. An injury changes everything, and missing these last few weeks, even the fans are like, 'What's going on with Lamar?' They all expect them to play, and everyone seems like in the organization is expecting him to play. For him to show up and not play. It just has everybody walking on pins and needles."
Rex Ryan, another former NFL head coach, raised questions about Jackson's reliability: "The guy's one of the all-time great talents in the history of the NFL. But when you're thinking of Lamar Jackson, you think he seems to come up short in the bigger games and the availability. He's not available and that you can't count on that anymore. Remember, he missed a playoff game when everybody in the organization thought he was going to play."
Schefter added a final thought on why Jackson might return this week: "This is why I think he's going to come back and play this week because there's a lot of noise out there."
Key Analysis
Jackson originally injured his ankle in the Ravens' Week 4 win over the Titans, leaving at halftime. He has missed the last three games despite returning to limited practice this week. Baltimore ultimately ruled him out against Cincinnati after evaluating his movement in practice. The bigger concern extends beyond this ankle injury: Jackson missed four games last season with a hamstring injury as the Ravens missed the playoffs, and he also sat out Baltimore's 2022 playoff loss to Cincinnati due to a knee injury. Jackson's postseason record stands at 3-5.
The Ravens are demonstrably better with Jackson on the field. They are 3-1 in games he has started this season and 1-2 without him, with the recent losses pushing them out of a playoff spot. That makes Sunday's trip to Buffalo critical. The Bills have lost just once this season—a narrow 29-26 defeat to the Patriots in Week 4—and again look like one of the AFC's elite teams. Jackson is expected to play, but Baltimore needs him not only to be on the field but also to perform at a high level and secure a win to silence the growing criticism.
Originally reported by newsweek.