Week 9 opens with a Thursday Night Football matchup that looks tilted from the jump, with Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars heading to Baltimore as heavy favorites against a Ravens team dealing with a pile of quarterback injuries.
The betting market has already reacted hard. A lookahead that had Baltimore as a 3-point favorite flipped all the way to Jaguars -9.5 after Lamar Jackson’s thumb injury in Week 8 against the Buffalo Bills landed him on injured reserve. Tyler Huntley is also out with turf toe, and third-string quarterback Joe Fagnano is dealing with an ankle injury.
That leaves Baltimore in a rough place as it tries to get back above .500. The Ravens are 4-4, but they’re walking into this one with almost no margin for error at quarterback.
Jacksonville, meanwhile, is in prime position to win the AFC South for the second straight season. No other team in the division has more than two wins in 2026, and the Jaguars just rolled past the Indianapolis Colts 42-7 in Week 8. Liam Coen’s group has also been stingy on defense, ranking third in EPA/Play and eighth in success rate.
Even with all that, this is the kind of game that can be tricky to attack from a betting angle because of the Baltimore injury mess. Still, the SI Betting team has lined up a few plays for the Thursday night stage, including props tied to Lawrence and Derrick Henry.
Iain MacMillan’s favorite side in his Road to 272 column is Jacksonville to cover on the road, and the logic is pretty straightforward: Baltimore may not even have a quarterback on the roster who can suit up if Fagnano can’t go.
That would force the Ravens into a run-first plan, but that’s a tough ask against a Jaguars defense that ranks second in opponent rush EPA and seventh in opponent rush success rate. Jacksonville is also allowing just 3.4 yards per carry, the best mark in the league.
MacMillan also pointed out that Baltimore’s defense doesn’t give the Ravens enough support to make up for the offensive situation. It’s a fair concern, especially with the Jaguars’ defense playing at such a high level.
One player prop worth watching is Bhayshul Tuten at +115 to score a touchdown. The second-year Jacksonville back has been a steady part of the offense, playing 55.3 percent of the team’s snaps and logging at least 12 carries in every game.
Tuten has also been involved as a receiver, with two or more catches in six straight games. He’s found the end zone three times through the air and four times overall in his last two games, and he has six total touchdowns in seven games this season. Chris Rodriguez is also expected to be part of the Jaguars’ backfield mix, but Tuten looks positioned for another busy night if Jacksonville controls the game.
Lawrence’s passing volume is another angle to consider. The former No. 1 overall pick is in the MVP conversation, but the Jaguars haven’t needed him to throw much with the run game carrying the load.
He’s averaging fewer than 29 pass attempts per game, and in that 42-7 win over Indianapolis, he threw only 14 passes. He has reached 30 attempts in just two games this season, Weeks 5 and 6.
If Jacksonville jumps out early and the game gets out of hand, Lawrence could be in line for another quiet night through the air. He may not even get to 25 attempts for the fourth time in eight games.
Henry’s rushing prop is also in a tough spot. He has topped 70 rushing yards in only four games this season and comes in after three straight underwhelming outings of 58, 45 and 53 yards, while averaging just 3.5 yards per carry over that stretch.
The Jaguars are likely to crowd the box because of Baltimore’s quarterback issues, and they just held Jonathan Taylor under 30 rushing yards in a blowout in Week 8. Jacksonville leads the NFL in EPA/Rush, is allowing the fewest yards per carry at 3.4, and has given up the fewest total rushing yards in the league at 542.
Even if Henry gets volume, the matchup is brutal. On a short week, with the Ravens likely forced into a one-dimensional approach, the numbers point to a difficult night for Baltimore’s offense.
In Other News...
Jaguars Trade Buzz Just Raised One Huge Question About Their 2026 Push
The Jaguars long-term push is already taking shape in the background, and the latest trade chatter only adds to the sense that Jacksonville is thinking bigger than the current season. Reports have linked the team to a possible move for Philadelphia defensive tackle Jalen Carter and Carolinas Derrick Brown, two names that immediately signal how aggressively the front office may be trying to reshape the middle of the defense for the years ahead.
Carters recent four-year extension with the Eagles makes any pursuit feel complicated from the start, while Brown has been active this season and has continued to flash the kind of production that would draw attention from teams looking to fortify their front line. For Jacksonville, the question is less about whether the talent fits and more about how far the club is willing to go to accelerate its 2026 plans, especially with the Eagles dealing with their own struggles and the market for impact defenders never staying quiet for long. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens Quarterback Chaos Just Changed Everything For The Jaguars
The Ravens quarterback room has gone from stable to scrambled just days before Thursdays matchup with the Jaguars. Lamar Jackson is dealing with a thumb injury, Tyler Huntleys toe injury is season-ending, and Baltimore has had to scramble for help by adding Kaden Slovis and Austin Reed to the depth chart.
For Jacksonville, the ripple effect is obvious: a game that once looked like a familiar AFC test may now feature an undrafted rookie, Joe Fagnano, in line to start if the Ravens have to go that direction. It changes the feel of the week for the Jaguars, who suddenly have a very different opponent to prepare for and a lot more uncertainty to sort through before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Trevor Lawrence Faces A Ravens Test That Could Shift Jacksonvilles Season
Trevor Lawrence heads into a short week with another chance to show how far the Jaguars have come under pressure. Jacksonvilles offense has leaned on his efficiency this season, and the matchup with Baltimore on Thursday night brings a familiar kind of test: a defense that can disrupt timing, force quick decisions and make every clean pocket feel earned. The Ravens also present the kind of front that can turn a solid game plan into a scramble if the protection slips even a little.
There are other pieces in play for Jacksonville beyond Lawrence, starting with how the running back room holds up on a short turnaround and whether Bhayshul Tuten is available. Up front, the Jaguars will also be watching Josh Hines-Allens battle with Ronnie Stanley, a matchup that could help determine whether Lawrence gets the kind of rhythm he has enjoyed so often this year. For a team trying to measure itself against a contender, this is the sort of game that can reveal a lot without necessarily settling everything. [Read more 🡒]