13 Winners, 10 Losers: Ravens preseason breakdown after 26-20 loss to Tampa Bay
The Baltimore Ravens preseason is over and it ended on a sour note with the Flock enduring back-to-back losses and kickstarting a new (losing) streak having won their prior 24 mid-summer contests in a row.
After beating Philadelphia in the preseason opener, Baltimore dropped two consecutive games in a span of six days, including Saturday's 26-20 loss to the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. Lamar Jackson didn't play while Baker Mayfield started for the Bucs, leading his new team to victory.
Josh Johnson impressed, David Ojabo struggled, and a lot of other players put on good and bad performances that could have sealed their future with the organization, whether that means making the 53-man roster next Tuesday, getting cut, or joining the Practice Squad.
With the preseason over and no more games until the regular-season opener on Sept. 10, here's Ebony Bird's Preseason Smorgasbord of Winners and Losers discussing 23 players from Lamar Jackson to Melvin Gordon.
Winner: QB Lamar Jackson
Jackson wanted to appear in the preseason and he commented before Saturday's finale against Tampa Bay that he would like to play in the final week of mid-summer games. Didn't happen.
Lamar can be considered a winner simply because he has been active and healthy through training camp and has escaped any preseason injuries. That said, the inactivity and a lack of in-game action under new Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken might hurt him and the offense come Week 1.
That alone could also make Jackson a (potential) loser entering the regular season as he'll be the main target of critics if the Ravens fail to beat Houston on Sept. 10.
Other franchises threw their starting quarterbacks into the preseason fire for a few snaps, including cameos by Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, and even Aaron Rodgers as the new leader of the New York Jets.
Will the rust pop up? We'll have to wait and see in a couple of weeks. For now, Lamar is healthy and that's all that matters.