Lamar Jackson's injury timeline could put Ravens in a bind for Week 5

The Baltimore Ravens might be without Lamar Jackson for at least one game. After going down with an ankle injury in the win over the Tennessee Titans, it appears he’s in real danger of missing Baltimore’s Week 5 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Jackson has only an outside chance of playing on Sunday Night Football next weekend, and there could be questions beyond that.

Thankfully, it’s not expected to be long-term. That’s a silver lining. However, going into Week 5 without Jackson would be a devastating blow.

Baltimore Ravens shouldn't rush Lamar Jackson back into action

Of course, Lamar Jackson hasn’t been completely ruled out, but it sounds like things are trending in the wrong direction.

Whichever way Jackson’s return timeline shakes out, the Ravens can’t rush it. We saw how things played out for him last year — when it rained, it poured with injuries. And the offensive line was and still is a huge concern. You can't risk a hampered Jackson behind that unit.

You especially can’t against this Falcons team. They’ve built one of the best defensive line duos in Brandon Dorlus and Gervon Dexter Jr. Those two have combined for 24 pressures from the interior, and Baltimore’s interior offensive front outside Vega Ioane is in an awful state.

John Simpson is off to a poor start, giving up six pressures with a 54.2 pass-block grade, per Pro Football Focus, and on the opposite side, there’s uncertainty about whether it’ll be Andrew Vorhees or Emery Jones Jr. due to Vorhees’ injury. That’s not a unit you can trust to keep Jackson upright.

Falcons' recent surge could make potential Jackson absence even tougher to overcome

So painting the potential picture without Jackson? The Ravens beating the Falcons in Week 5 becomes a tough reality to achieve. Seeing how they've played over the past two weeks, it'll be a major challenge.

At the start of the year, Atlanta looked like one of the worst teams in football with Cooper Rush under center. Fortunately for them, Michael Penix Jr. returned in Week 3, and the offense has taken off like a rocket ship since.

The Falcons blew out the Green Bay Packers 35-14 in Week 3. In Week 4? They doubled down with another electrifying offensive performance, defeating the New Orleans Saints, 45-24. Yeah, they made that Saints team that beat the Ravens look silly on national television.

Simply put, it’s going to be hard to stop Atlanta. Penix has done really well in his two starts, completing 73.3% of passes for 479 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception. And the bigger issue: Bijan Robinson. Robinson has been running all over teams this season, rushing for 494 yards and 4 touchdowns on 5.8 yards per carry.

If Baltimore’s defense doesn’t step up, this could become a shootout. And the Ravens’ offense might not have the pieces to outlast the Falcons in such a contest.

Tyler Huntley can be good. Yes, the offense was shut out in the second half when he took the field against the Titans, but Jesse Minter mentioned they were more conservative once he was put under center.

Still, can Huntley go on the road and win against a high-powered offense? With how the offense has looked beyond Jackson and Zay Flowers, maybe not.

Don’t get me wrong, Mark Andrews has been excellent, and Derrick Henry is a great running back. Unfortunately, defenses play the Ravens differently when Jackson’s not on the field. They can stack the box without the fear of Jackson’s arm talent lingering in their mind. That could limit how explosive Declan Doyle’s offense can be.

Now, the Ravens haven’t provided their own update on Lamar Jackson’s health. Minter mentioned they were still getting results on Monday. If they have to go into Atlanta without him, though, things might not be pretty.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow