One team's misfortune is another squad's opportunity. The Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers are on polar opposite sides of this reality following star pass rusher Micah Parsons' season-ending knee injury.
Parsons will miss "at least" nine months after an MRI confirmed he suffered a torn ACL in the Packers' 34-26 loss to the Denver Broncos. It cannot be overstated how massive a blow his absence is for Green Bay; he's a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
With Parsons' dominance and absence in mind, Baltimore just caught a monumental break ahead of their upcoming interconference clash with the Packers in Green Bay.
Ravens dodge Micah Parsons-sized bullet vs. Packers after latest injury news
The Ravens will travel to Lambeau Field in Week 17 to face a suddenly Parsons-less Packers club. It's a head-to-head matchup that carries immense playoff juice, especially for Baltimore.
Baltimore's only path to the postseason is by three-peating as AFC North champions, and they're currently ceding high ground to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The margin for error is razor-thin, so something like going up against the Packers without Parsons could tilt the scales in favor of the Ravens.
A regular-season finale between the Ravens and Steelers figures to ultimately decide which one of them will host a win-or-go-home game and who gets eliminated. However, Pittsburgh prevailed in their first meeting of 2025 and has a slightly better divisional record, giving them the first two tiebreakers.
In other words, the Ravens need all the wins and help they can get moving forward. You never root for someone to get hurt, especially a must-watch player of Parsons' caliber. However, not having him in the lineup is as helpful to Baltimore as it is gut-wrenching to the Packers.
Ravens standout quarterback Lamar Jackson has been physically compromised since coming back from a hamstring injury in late October. He clearly hasn't looked like the electrifying dual-threat we've grown accustomed to seeing throughout his distinguished career. The eye test and production (or lack thereof), specifically as a rusher, have been glaring indicators.
Jackson has taken sacks at an uncharacteristically high rate this year -- 10.75 percent -- the third-highest in the league. Only six signal-callers have been sacked more than him upon returning from the soft-tissue issue. The two-time MVP has taken a beating, but at least he won't have to run for his life from Parsons.