Lamar Jackson keeps doing the one thing the Ravens can always count on: he keeps moving forward, no matter how shaky the support around him gets.
That has become the story again this week as Baltimore heads toward another test with an offense that already looks stretched thin. Jackson has been asked to carry a lot before, and through three weeks this season, that burden has only grown.
Outside of Zay Flowers, the passing game has offered little help. Up front, the Ravens have been fighting through a line that has already turned into a shuffle, and now they’re staring at another week of uncertainty.
On Sunday in Brazil, Jackson had to work with no real help in pass protection, no real help in run blocking, and a defense that kept handing him chances to escape with the game. He bailed Baltimore out again. The problem is that this kind of rescue act can wear on anybody, even a quarterback who never seems to crack.
The situation only looks messier now. Against the Titans, Baltimore is dealing with a rookie guard at center, two backups battling for the other guard spot, and John Simpson - the veteran the Ravens paid this offseason - looking more like part of the issue than part of the answer. The short-yardage and goal-line problems that were ugly a year ago have only gotten uglier with this group, and the line is expected to keep changing as practice-squad additions arrive and the pieces keep moving around.
That leaves Jackson in a familiar spot: expected to cover for everyone else.
“At the end of the day this game is the next-man-up mentality,” Jackson said before Wednesday’s practice. “With three guys going down before even the fourth game, it was cray and for two guys to go down in one game, and for my right guard - we drafted to be my right guard - to end up playing center in a game in another country, it was crazy. But shoutout to him for being able to make that transition at the snap of a finger.”
Ioane also described Jackson’s response to the chaos in simple terms. “It’s not so much what he did, it’s what he didn’t do it.
He came in and said, ‘Aright, let’s go play ball.’ He kept it cool, calm.
It’s a good thing especially for someone like me, a rookie, in a moment like that with a lot of things going wrong.”
Jackson was also dealing with a back issue that kept him out for part of practice, though rookie head coach Jesse Minter played down any concern after the session.
What the Ravens are dealing with now makes the offense harder to project. Jackson’s legs figure to be a bigger part of the plan each week, and with the Titans bringing a defense that allows just 3.6 yards per carry, the obvious interior runs may not be the answer.
Baltimore has already run up the middle on Tennessee an NFL-high 33 times, but the Titans rank third in the league in Expected Points Added against those runs. That makes life even tougher for Derrick Henry in his revenge game with Tennessee and puts more pressure on Justice Hill and Flowers to attack the perimeter.
The middle is the danger zone here, especially with Jeffery Simmons waiting there. Minter put it plainly: “Their interior defensive line is probably as good as anybody’s,”
Jackson, as usual, isn’t offering excuses. If anything, he seems to be taking even more on himself.
He has been more vocal, more involved on the sideline, and more active as a presence for teammates instead of just sitting with his tablet. He’s playing at an MVP level, and the Ravens know anything less than that can leave them in trouble.
For a quarterback already doing the work of a much stronger supporting cast, the asks keep piling up. And Jackson, true to form, keeps answering them. “I pretty much lead by example,” Jackson said, “but sometimes those guys need to hear my voice and know what I’m thinking, and to let them know I have their back at the same time they have mine.”
In Other News...
Ravens Got An Encouraging First Look At Lamar Jacksons Blind Side
The Ravens left Brazil with more than a win over the Cowboys. They also got their first extended look at Carson Vinson protecting Lamar Jacksons blind side in a starting role at left tackle, a spot that has been under plenty of scrutiny as Baltimore sorts through its options up front. Vinson showed enough to make the outing noteworthy, handling the assignment with a mix of encouraging moments and the kind of growing pains that come with a first NFL start.
Baltimore also saw other linemen and front-seven pieces make their case. Zion Young showed up in the run game and as a pass-rush presence, flashing the kind of quickness and physicality that suggest there is more to come. Calais Campbell, meanwhile, kept doing what he has done for years, turning in another effective performance in his 19th NFL season and reinforcing the idea that the Ravens still have dependable veteran production in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Lamar Jacksons New Approach Could Calm Ravens Fans Biggest Fear
Lamar Jacksons message after the Ravens Week 3 win over Dallas landed because it went beyond the usual victory lap. He made a point of praising his teammates and acknowledging the issues Baltimore has had closing out games, a reminder that the new coaching staff under Jesse Minter is trying to reshape more than just the playbook. For a team that has lived with late-game anxiety, the tone from its quarterback mattered almost as much as the result.
Jackson revisited the subject in a later press conference, stressing why the message was important to him and to the room. For Ravens fans, the bigger question is whether the shift in leadership can finally translate into cleaner finishes when the margin gets tight in the fourth quarter. The words were encouraging, but Baltimore still has to prove the habit has changed. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens 2-1 Start Is Hiding Pressure They Cant Ignore
A 2-1 start usually buys a little breathing room, but in Baltimore it has done something closer to expose the edges of a team that still looks unfinished. The Ravens are sitting right alongside the rest of the AFC North in the standings, yet the early-season review has been harsher than the record, with September drawing a C+ grade after uneven offense and a defense that has had trouble holding up its end.
The schedule is about to tell a lot more of the story. Tennessee and Atlanta are next, followed by a stretch that includes Cleveland, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Jacksonville, and those games should quickly show whether Baltimore can turn a modest opening into real momentum or keep living with the same questions that have already followed them through the first month. [Read more 🡒]