The Ravens left Atlanta with a 30-23 overtime win, and the bigger takeaway for Baltimore may be what comes next in Cleveland.
On Monday, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said on “The Pat McAfee Show” that Lamar Jackson is in better shape than many realized when Baltimore ruled him out for Sunday night’s game against the Falcons. Jackson missed the Week 5 matchup while dealing with the ankle injury he suffered on Oct. 4, but Schefter indicated there was optimism behind the scenes before kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
According to Schefter, “there was some hope earlier in the week last week” that Jackson would be able to go against Atlanta. The Ravens didn’t need him anyway, as Tyler Huntley stepped in and delivered a strong performance: 24-of-32 passing for 201 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Huntley also finished the job in overtime with a quarterback sneak for the winning score.
Schefter’s read on Jackson was even more encouraging for Baltimore’s Week 6 trip to face the Browns. “Knowing the things that I heard last week,” he said about Jackson, “my sense is that he is gonna have a realistic chance to play” against Cleveland.
There was another notable update out of Baltimore, too. The Ravens added two-time Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens last week, but he did not get on the field in Atlanta. Schefter said Monday that Baltimore expects Jurgens to make his debut against the Browns.
The timing matters because the Ravens now head into that matchup as the AFC North’s only four-win team. DraftKings Sportsbook listed Baltimore, now 4-1, as a 4.5-point road favorite over a Browns team coming off a 17-12 loss at the Jets. If Schefter’s latest read holds, Baltimore may be getting Jackson back after what had looked like a much more concerning injury situation just a few days ago.
In Other News...
Ravens Found Something Important In Atlanta Without Lamar Jackson
The Ravens went to Atlanta without Lamar Jackson and still found a way to leave with a win, edging the Falcons 30-23 in overtime. Tyler Huntley stepped in at quarterback and kept Baltimore steady enough to survive a late push, with the team leaning on the kind of situational football that can travel well in December and beyond.
Baltimores defense had the final say after Atlanta clawed back into the game, and the victory gave the Ravens sole possession of first place in the AFC North. For a team trying to show it can stay on course when its star quarterback is unavailable, the bigger takeaway was not just that it won, but how it handled the pressure when the game started slipping away. [Read more 🡒]
Derrick Henry Had A Message After Ravens Silenced The Doubters
The Ravens walked out of Sunday night with a 30-23 overtime win over the Falcons, but the game carried extra edge because of the chatter that surrounded it all week. Derrick Henry made sure to note that plenty of the outside picks leaned Atlantas way, and Baltimore had to spend much of the night answering those doubts the hard way before the result finally flipped in its favor.
Backup quarterback Tyler Huntley helped fuel the late rally after Lamar Jackson was ruled out with an injury, giving Baltimore a path back into a game that looked like it might slip away. Henry did his part with 102 rushing yards and the two-point conversion that tied things late, and after the win he had a pointed message for the voices that had counted the Ravens out. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Win Still Exposed A Problem Fans Cant Ignore
The Ravens left Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 30-23 overtime win, but the kind of victory that still invites a long look at what went wrong along the way. Baltimore had enough answers late, yet Atlantas defense made sure it was not easy, getting four sacks and pressure on the quarterback while Jessie Bates III supplied the kind of impact play that can swing a game. Drake London and Kyle Pitts also gave the Falcons some needed production on offense, helping keep things tense into the extra period.
Still, the most worrying part for Baltimore was harder to ignore than the final result. The Ravens were able to lean on their ground game for much of the night, and Atlanta never consistently solved it even after putting together strong stretches on defense. For a team trying to stack wins and build momentum, the ability to finish was there, but so was the reminder that the run defense remains a real issue waiting to be fixed. [Read more 🡒]