With Lamar Jackson’s Week 5 availability hanging in the balance, the Ravens may need their defense to carry the night in Atlanta.
That’s the assignment Kyle Hamilton put on the table after Baltimore’s win over Tennessee, when he pushed for the team to keep rolling after back-to-back victories moved the Ravens to 3-1.
“I told the team after, ‘Let’s not be afraid to stack these games and go on a streak. It’s OK to go on a win streak, and we don’t have to regress every few weeks,'” Hamilton said. “I’m excited for us to carry what we did right and correct what we did wrong into the Falcons game.”
Whether Jackson can be part of that effort is still unclear. The two-time MVP has been out since the closing seconds of the first half of last Sunday’s 24-18 win over the winless Titans because of a left ankle injury, and he remained out of practice Thursday. Even if he’s able to suit up Sunday night, there’s no guarantee he’d be close to full strength.
That puts more pressure on a Baltimore defense that has yet to really take off in 2026. The expectation was that this side of the ball might lead the way early, especially with the offense dealing with personnel changes and first-time play-caller Declan Doyle adjusting to life as offensive coordinator. Instead, the offense has been the more reliable unit, while the defense has settled somewhere between solid and merely okay.
Baltimore sits 12th in defensive DVOA and 13th in expected points added per play on defense. The numbers are respectable, but the tape has included too many loose stretches, especially late in games. The Ravens have been better than the mess they were at this point last season, but not nearly as sharp as a defense with this much expectation should be.
That challenge gets tougher against an Atlanta offense that has surged recently. The Falcons have scored 80 points over their last two games, and that run has lined up with the return of starting quarterback Michael Penix. Baltimore’s defense will have to be at its best to keep pace.
Stopping Bijan Robinson is the obvious place to start. Hamilton called it a “loaded question” when asked how to slow down the All-Pro running back, and Derrick Henry offered a simple answer when he labeled Robinson “the best in the game” on Thursday.
That kind of praise carries weight from Henry, who has more rushing yards than anyone since the start of 2024. Robinson backed it up last season, when he piled up just under 2,300 yards of offense as both a runner and receiver.
The Falcons have more weapons than just Robinson. Drake London enters Week 5 seventh in the league in receiving yards, and he did that while former Ravens backup Cooper Rush started the first two games. Kyle Pitts has been quiet so far this season, but he’s coming off a career year in 2025 and remains a tough matchup.
Inside linebacker Roquan Smith sees the game as one that will be decided up front.
“It’s an exciting challenge for us when you pride yourself on stopping the run,” Smith said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a runner, their offensive line, their receivers with their willingness to block.
I think it’s a great challenge for us. I look at this as a front-seven game.
It’s about showing up, and obviously, the whole world’s watching.”
That makes this a prime-time test for a defense that needs one of those clean, complete performances.
Jackson’s uncertain status also forced the offensive staff into contingency mode this week. Doyle said Baltimore has had to prepare one plan with Jackson and another with backup Tyler Huntley, similar to the approach the team used a couple weeks ago when Zay Flowers was questionable against Dallas.
“There’s a lot of stuff behind the scenes that has to go on,” Doyle said. “But I think that’s how you have to shape it. Guys that are worth game-planning around, you’ve got to have kind of a plan for with and without him, and sometimes that goes all the way up until Sunday.”
The Ravens also had several other injury issues on Thursday. Outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson, cornerback Marlon Humphrey, Jackson, and center Cam Jurgens did not participate.
Hendrickson, still wearing a thick cast on his right hand after last week’s finger surgery, worked out on a side field during the media viewing period. Jurgens is not expected to make his debut until Week 6.
Among the limited participants were Zay Flowers, John Simpson, and Andrew Vorhees. Mark Andrews, Rashod Bateman, Calais Campbell, Kyle Hamilton, Chris Moore, and Ronnie Stanley were full participants.
In Other News...
Ravens Defense Backlash May Be Missing The Real Problem
Through four weeks, the Ravens defense has looked better by one important measure, even if the public conversation around the unit has been dominated by frustration. Jesse Minters group sits ninth in penalty-adjusted defensive EPA in 2026, a sign that the underlying work is moving in the right direction compared with recent seasons. But Baltimores margin for error has been thinned out by a high number of flags against the defense, and the offense has not helped by drawing very few penalties of its own.
The result is a picture that is messier than the backlash suggests. Injuries and discipline issues have certainly made life harder, yet the defense is still expected to improve as the season goes on if it can keep cleaning up the details. The biggest area still demanding attention is the run defense, where Baltimore needs steadier play before the larger conversation about the units progress can really settle down. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Face A Week 5 Matchup That Could Expose Their Biggest Problem
The Ravens head into Week 5 with a familiar kind of test waiting in Atlanta, one that could say plenty about where this defense really stands. The Falcons have leaned heavily on Drake London in the passing game, and he has become the kind of receiver who can tilt a game simply by demanding attention on every snap. Baltimores secondary has had trouble holding up against top pass catchers this season, so this matchup arrives with a little more tension than a typical early-October road game.
Jesse Minter has already acknowledged how hard it is to consistently shadow London because of the way Atlanta structures its offense, which is part of what makes this such an awkward assignment for the Ravens. If Baltimore cannot sort out the coverage issues that have popped up against premier receivers, London could turn a weakness into a defining storyline for the afternoon. The challenge is clear, even if the solution is not. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Suddenly Have A Zay Flowers Concern They Can't Ignore
Zay Flowers has been one of the Ravens most important pieces on offense, so any setback around him immediately changes the feel of Baltimores week. The second-year wideout was limited in practice ahead of the matchup with the Falcons because of a foot injury, and that comes on top of the hamstring issue he has been carrying through recent games.
Lamar Jackson is also unlikely to play because of an ankle sprain, which puts Tyler Huntley in line to start and makes Flowers availability even more important. Baltimore is still sorting out how much the injury will affect him, but with the offense already facing a quarterback change, the Ravens cannot afford another complication at receiver. [Read more 🡒]