Lamar Jackson will miss the Baltimore Ravens’ Week 7 contest against the Cincinnati Bengals. He’ll miss his third straight game with an ankle injury, putting Tyler Huntley in line to start again.
After being limited in practice all week, there was more hope of Jackson returning this Sunday. Ultimately, though, the pain hadn’t subsided Friday, and the extra day of rest wasn’t enough to get Jackson back on the field.
Historically, Baltimore doesn’t fare well when Jackson can’t save them, especially against the Bengals. It's becoming an all-too-familiar predicament. This will be Jackson’s fourth career missed game against Cincinnati, his third absence in 2026, and seventh over the last two seasons.
Baltimore Ravens’ history without Lamar Jackson makes matters worse
Baltimore just isn’t a good enough team without Lamar Jackson. Since Jackson was named a full-time starter, they’re 7-13 when he doesn’t start. Inconsistency is expected with a backup quarterback, but the numbers are flat-out bad in big divisional games against Cincinnati.
In their three games against the Bengals without Jackson, though, things look even worse. The Ravens are winless. Josh Johnson, Anthony Brown, and Tyler Huntley went 0-3, and the offense averaged a troublesome 18 points per game.
Now, things change with Derrick Henry in the backfield — he’s the ultimate equalizer when Huntley’s out there instead of Jackson. Baltimore is 3-1 in those contests. However, last week showed you can’t rely on Huntley too much. Jackson must put the injury behind him soon.
And no matter how you feel about Jackson’s injuries, something needs to change. It starts with the offensive line.
In 2025, the pass blocking exposed Jackson to relentless pressure. It started with a hamstring in Week 3, followed by several lower-body issues through the rest of the campaign. A Baltimore pass-protection unit that posted an 82.8 pass-blocking efficiency rate (26th), per Pro Football Focus, and allowed 45 sacks (21st) played a major role in that.
This year, it was the offensive line breaking down again. Injuries led to Vega Ioane starting at center, leaving a monstrous problem at right guard. In Week 4, Emery Jones Jr. took over for an injured Andrew Vorhees, and his inexperience got exposed on a stunt late in the second quarter. Jermaine Johnson II had a free shot at Jackson and rolled up on him in a painful manner.
While you obviously can’t pin the blame on one player, the offensive line hasn’t helped Jackson throughout his career. Maybe that changes with Cam Jurgens returning to action. We won’t see him with Jackson this week, but sometime soon, we could see Jackson behind the best offensive line he’s had in a while.
Whether you like it or not, ensuring Jackson has the extra week of rest is the right move. He isn’t 100% right now, and you’d put him in real danger if you threw him out there on Sunday.
Keeping Jackson healthy and upright needs to be the priority moving forward — he’s taken way too many hits, and they’re adding up. Let him rest, and step it up in pass protection.
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