Lamar Jackson left M&T Bank Stadium in a walking boot on Sunday. By Tuesday morning, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was reporting that the Baltimore quarterback had only “an outside chance” of facing the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5, and could miss multiple games as the injury is reassessed through the week.
The underlying numbers underline it: Jackson had thrown for 967 yards, six touchdowns and one interception through four games, with a 119.6 passer rating and another 144 yards on the ground, per the Fox Sports account of his season to date. On Sunday he was 15-of-20 for 222 yards and two touchdowns before halftime, a stretch that carried a 144.2 passer rating.
Then came the final offensive play of the first half. Titans defensive end Jermaine Johnson chased him down for a sack, landing on the back of his leg and twisting the ankle underneath. Jackson did not return. Baltimore led 24-7 at the break, held on to win 24-18, and did not score a point in the second half.
Minter has no clean timeline
Head coach Jesse Minter, in his first season running the Ravens, was careful with the prognosis. He told reporters after the game he hoped the ankle was “in a good spot” but said the staff did not yet know enough. Imaging and further evaluation have narrowed the picture without producing a clean timeline.
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“I don’t think it’s going to be crazy long-term,” Minter said, while stopping short of ruling his quarterback in or out for Atlanta.
The injury is not considered long-term and is not expected to require surgery, Rapoport reported. The qualifier is that Jackson will sit out at least this week and could be sidelined for more.
Huntley back in a Ravens huddle
If Jackson cannot go, Tyler Huntley will start. The 28-year-old is in his second stint in Baltimore and has 16 career starts over seven NFL seasons, 11 of them in a Ravens uniform. He finished Sunday’s win in sharp relief, completing 8 of 9 passes for 63 yards and adding 16 yards on the ground.
The matchup is not forgiving. Atlanta’s defense has been among the stingiest in the league against passers this season, allowing the third-lowest drop-back success rate in the NFL heading into the weekend, according to the NBC Sports fantasy update.
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Baltimore is 3-1 and the next three weeks pull hard: Atlanta on Sunday night, then AFC North games against Cleveland and Cincinnati that will set the tone of the division race.
Kickoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is at 8:20pm local time on Sunday, 11 October, on NBC. Jackson is listed as day-to-day. Final word on his status is expected on the team’s Friday injury report.
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