Lamar Jackson’s ankle injury has pushed the Ravens into a familiar spot, and Tyler Huntley may be the one asked to steady the ship again Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.
According to Ian Rapoport, Jackson has only an outside chance to play after getting hurt last Sunday. The injury was first described as day-to-day, and while Baltimore appears to have avoided anything long term, there is still a real possibility Jackson misses more than one game.
That puts Huntley back in the spotlight. The gap between him and Jackson is obvious, especially when you’re talking about one of the league’s elite quarterbacks. But Huntley has done this before, and he’s had some real moments as Baltimore’s backup.
He is 5-6 as a starter with the Ravens, and one of his biggest turns came last season in Week 17 against the Green Bay Packers. Baltimore needed that game to keep its playoff hopes alive, and Huntley delivered in a 41-24 win.
He completed 16 of 20 passes and threw a touchdown in that performance. The Ravens lost the following week and were knocked out, but Huntley had already done his part.
This time, the setting is different. It’s Week 5, not a playoff survival game, but Baltimore is 3-1 and sitting in a division where every week matters. If Jackson can’t go, Huntley will need to help keep that momentum rolling.
There are reasons for concern, though. When Huntley stepped in during Week 4, the Ravens went scoreless in the second half and punted on their first four possessions. Tyler Loop missed a field goal, so Baltimore wasn’t completely shut out, but the offense clearly lost a gear without Jackson.
Declan Doyle had to trim things down once Huntley entered the game, and that should point to what Baltimore leans on if he starts Sunday: running plays, short throws, and a simpler approach. With Derrick Henry, Huntley’s own ability to create on the ground, and Zay Flowers working after the catch, there’s at least a path for that kind of offense to function.
The problem is that Atlanta has been rolling since Michael Penix’s Week 3 return. The Falcons have put up 35 and 44 points over the last two weeks, and Bijan Robinson has been impossible to stop. Baltimore’s defense has also shown some clear flaws, which makes this matchup more dangerous if the Ravens can’t score.
So the ask on Huntley could be heavy. The Ravens probably won’t be running the kind of offense they can with Jackson, but they may still need Huntley to make enough plays to keep pace.
Short completions alone probably won’t cut it. Baltimore is going to need some explosive moments, whether they come through the air or on the ground.
That’s the challenge if Jackson sits: Huntley has to be more than a caretaker. He’s pulled off that role before, but Sunday would still be a tall order.
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Ravens Suddenly Have A Tight End Depth Problem To Solve
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Now the Ravens are left leaning harder on rookie tight ends Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas, two players who may be asked to handle more than expected as the season moves along. Baltimore could also look outside the building for another veteran option, because the depth chart at tight end suddenly needs a solution, and it needs one quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Sit Atop AFC North But One Concern Wont Go Away
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Even so, the larger concern around the division is how long that cushion can last if Baltimore does not clean up some of the same issues that have followed it into the first month. The Ravens place at the top matters, but so does the fact that every team in the North still has a path to make life difficult over the stretch run. With upcoming games on the schedule, the next few weeks will go a long way toward showing whether Baltimore is truly separating itself or simply holding off a crowded field. [Read more 🡒]
Zay Flowers Looks Different In Baltimore For One Huge Reason
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The bigger change has been how the Ravens are using him. Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle has moved Flowers around the formation and into multiple roles across the field, which has pushed his target share up and made him harder to key on. Head coach Jesse Minter pointed to both Flowers versatility and Doyles creativity as reasons for the strong start, and the early results suggest Baltimore may finally be leaning into exactly what makes him most dangerous. [Read more 🡒]