Lamar Jackson suffered a high ankle sprain that kept him out for three Ravens games (Weeks 5-7) this season. Unfortunately, optimism that he would return to start for Baltimore in a critical AFC matchup in Buffalo in Week 8 was short-lived.
Jackson attempted only one pass against the Bills before being ruled out of action again with a hand/thumb injury. Soon after learning that bad news, the Ravens saw backup Tyler Huntley leave with a toe injury, putting undrafted rookie third-string emergency QB Joe Fagano in the near-impossible situation of trying to outduel Josh Allen on the road.
The Ravens have tried to avoid facing an uncomfortable reality regarding Jackson’s health. When the two-time MVP can’t play for them, they have little chance of being a real factor in the AFC playoffs.
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What Lamar Jackson’s injury means for Ravens’ Super Bowl chances
Jackson missed four games in 2025 with combined injuries to his thigh, hamstring, back, and tailbone. He went 6-7 as a starter last season and the Ravens fell short of the playoffs at 8-9. Huntley went 2-0 filling in, but only after short-term No. 2 Cooper Rush played poorly in back-to-back losses when replacing Jackson.
Over the past two seasons, this is the first time Jackson has missed this much time — 7-plus games — since he didn’t play in 10 of 34 games between 2021 and 2022. In those seasons, the Ravens went 18-16 combined, with a last-place finish and a quick playoff exit as a No. 6 seed wild-card to show for it.
When someone other than Jackson starts at QB since his 2019 full-time starting MVP season, the Ravens are 7-13 in those 20 games, with Huntley going 6-8. Although Jackson got credited with a start against the Bills, Sunday’s loss felt like it piled on to that history. Baltimore fell to 4-4 under rookie Jesse Minter, in clear last place in the AFC North.
The Steelers (6-2) are the new division leaders after beating up the Browns (5-3) at home on Sunday. The Bengals (5-2) also jumped the Browns into second place. The Steelers have wins over the Browns and Bengals, while the Browns and Bengals have beaten the Ravens.
MORE: A complete timeline of injuries for Lamar Jackson
The Ravens didn’t expect to be Jackson-less at .500 at midseason. They were 4-1 when Huntley sparked them to a thrilling overtime victory at the Falcons in Week 5. Jackson wasn’t expected to miss this much time. Baltimore has dropped three consecutive conference games and has to host dominant AFC South-leading Jacksonville (5-2) on Thursday night to open Week 9.
The Steelers are better than expected with Aaron Rodgers in a better offense. The Browns are overachieving with Deshaun Watson’s fourth-quarter work. The Bengals still have the look of the best team in the division, led by MVP-caliber Joe Burrow.
Suddenly, the rest of the division has stellar QB stability that the Ravens lack. With Jackson healthy enough to execute in the new offense under Declan Doyle, after such a hot passing start, has created a bigger void than usual. Huntley doesn’t fit with Doyle the way he did at times with previous Jackson offensive coordinators Greg Roman and Todd Monken.
The Ravens know how valuable Jackson is and that hasn’t changed going from John Harbaugh to Jesse Minter. Huntley has done an admirable job replacing him often, but as Jackson is raising his game as a passer and runner, he has become one of the league’s most indispensable quarterbacks. Baltimore also isn’t the same kind of strong defensive team to compensate for a lower-scoring offense.
Jackson has already missed enough action in 2026 to throw off the Ravens’ playoff chances in one of the league’s toughest divisions. Beyond the Jaguars, they need to get hot in a hurry. If not, they would get into the final month of all division games — when the Steelers’ series sandwiches rematches with the Browns and Bengals — with no remaining chance of winning the division. Limping in as a wild card seems like the ceiling, not the floor.
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