Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said on Friday that is a “fair assumption” Tyler Huntley will get another start at quarterback on Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
That means that Lamar Jackson is set to miss his fourth consecutive game, while he has yet to take part in practice since injuring his knee back on Dec. 4 against the Denver Broncos.
This should be at least somewhat of a concern for the Ravens as it relates to Jackson.
When he was first injured the Ravens had no official timetable for his return, other than to say it would not be a season-ending injury.
But if he does not play on Sunday and has not even taken part in practice, that means he only has one more potential game for a return in the regular season. That would be the Ravens’ Week 18 game against the Cincinnati Bengals that could decide the AFC North.
If he does not play in that game, the Ravens would be looking at a potential return for the playoffs after nearly a month off. That is not to say Jackson cannot do it and be effective, but that is a long layoff and the Ravens offense has been a mess for the past month and a half. Even with Jackson in the lineup.
The Ravens have not scored more than 30 points in a game since Week 3 and have been held to 20 points or less in eight of their past 12 games. They have scored more than 16 points just once in the past six weeks.
They have been leaning heavily on their defense and running game to scratch out wins. They are 2-1 with Huntley, including a 16-14 win over the Steelers earlier in December. That game was aided by three red zone interceptions of Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky who was replacing an injured Kenny Pickett.
The Ravens have already clinched a playoff spot, but the division is still up for grabs and they are going to need a lot more from their offense if they are going to have a chance to make any noise in the playoffs.
Jackson is a free agent after this season and still playing for a new contract, so there is added incentive for him to not return until he is completely healthy as to not risk further injury.
