The Baltimore Ravens’ season might be on life support. In their Week 8 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Lamar Jackson left with a thumb injury. After the game, Jesse Minter announced that Jackson will need surgery and will go on IR.
“[Lamar’s] injury will be a surgery deal; he’ll go to IR,” Minter said. “[The injury’s] potentially [season-ending], but we’ll see where it’s at.”
At 4-4, the Ravens will face a tough stretch without Jackson. He’s out for a minimum of four games, and it could be worse. They’re battling an uphill climb in the AFC North, and that climb is about to get much steeper.
It hasn’t been easy without Jackson, and now, Baltimore’s season is in serious jeopardy.
Baltimore Ravens’ season is hanging in the balance with Lamar Jackson hitting IR
Without your starting quarterback, you won’t be a fierce playoff contender. When you don’t have your MVP who has carried your franchise on his back, it’s highly unrealistic that you have any chance of competing.
The Ravens already had their back against the wall. This Lamar Jackson news, though? That might already be the final nail in the coffin. It’s only Week 8, but it feels like that.
At the very least, Baltimore will play the Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers, and Houston Texans without Jackson. It’s not a terrifying stretch record-wise, but it’s one against Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert, Bryce Young, and C.J. Stroud. Each of those teams also made the playoffs in 2025.
Whether it’s Tyler Huntley, Joe Fagnano, or someone else, the Ravens will be lucky to get one win in November, especially with how these guys have played in the last three contests.
When Jackson’s out, everything looks worse. And I mean everything legitimately. The passing and rushing attacks, offensive line, defense — everything takes a very apparent step back when Jackson isn’t on the field.
In the passing game, there aren’t many explosive plays under Tyler Huntley; Derrick Henry doesn’t have the space to dominate when Jackson’s not a threat under center; an already poor offensive line’s mistakes become obvious when Jackson’s not doing his Houdini impression.
As for the defense, the Ravens’ offense doesn’t move the ball well without Jackson. When an offense can’t build long drives and give the defense time to rest, that sets up the defense for a disaster.
You can obviously expect the offense to look worse when they have a backup quarterback calling the shots, but there’s been very little hope.
While Tyler Huntley notched a win in his first start of 2026, things have been extremely lackluster since. From Week 6 to Week 8, they’ve put just 33 points on the board. Two of those outings came against two highly questionable defenses in the Cincinnati Bengals and the Bills, too.
If you can’t even look competent against those defenses, good luck the rest of the way. It probably won’t be pretty.
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