Lamar Jackson’s return to the Ravens lineup could come fast.
After sitting out Baltimore’s Sunday night win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5 because of an ankle injury, Jackson has a goal of being back for Week 6 against the Cleveland Browns, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport on Sunday. Rapoport also reported that “several people” involved in the situation believe the two-time league MVP will miss only one game.
That lines up with the early betting market, which is already treating Jackson’s availability like a real possibility. Baltimore opened as a 3.5-point road favorite against Cleveland, and that number held steady at the best NFL betting sites on Monday.
The Ravens would gladly take that news after moving to 4-1 behind a steady effort from backup Tyler Huntley. Baltimore also enters Week 6 as the No. 2 team in the odds to win the Super Bowl at DraftKings Sportsbook (+800).
Huntley has helped keep the ship moving whenever Jackson has been sidelined. The Ravens were 0-2 in the first two games Jackson missed last season with Cooper Rush under center, but this time the backup situation has looked much more stable. Baltimore has now won three straight games started by Huntley, improving to 7-11 all-time when Jackson is out.
“That’s three straight wins for Tyler Huntley starting in place of Lamar Jackson. It doesn’t always look pretty but Huntley doesn’t rattle easily. That late 2 minute drive may have been best of his career.”
Cleveland, meanwhile, comes into the matchup off a Week 5 loss. The Browns are 3-2, but their showing against a New York Jets team that was 1-3 before Sunday’s win didn’t do much to discourage Baltimore backers, especially with the spread sitting beyond a field goal.
Jackson’s own form before the injury only adds to the expectation that he could be back quickly. In Week 4 against the Tennessee Titans, he put together one of his best outings of the year, going 15 of 20 for 222 yards and two touchdowns while helping the Ravens put up 24 points.
For the season, Jackson has completed 70.8 percent of his passes for 967 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. He has also added 18 carries for 144 yards and a score on the ground.
His MVP odds remain inside the league’s top seven, another sign that oddsmakers are not bracing for a lengthy absence. The Ravens’ practice reports early in the week should tell more of the story, but for now the market looks as if Jackson is trending toward an AFC North return.
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 🡒]