BALTIMORE — The reeling Ravens plummeted to 1-5 after Sunday’s 17-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, but they could receive a spark to try to put together a rare midseason turnaround.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said “the hope” is to have injured quarterback Lamar Jackson return after the bye and start the Oct. 26 game against the Chicago Bears. Baltimore has struggled mightily without the two-time NFL MVP, totaling 13 points in the two games he has missed.
Asked about what the building blocks the Ravens can find coming out of the bye, Harbaugh replied, “Our quarterback is going to be back. That’s probably a big one.”
So, will Jackson for sure be back after this week’s bye?
“I mean, for sure? I’m saying so, but I don’t know,” Harbaugh said. “That’s how life is sometimes. You can’t predict everything. It’s still the future, but that’s the hope.”
Jackson hasn’t suited up since injuring his hamstring during the 37-20 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 28. Two weeks later against the Rams, the Ravens offense hit rock bottom with 3 points, which are the fewest it has scored at home in 23 years.
Baltimore struggled for seven quarters with Cooper Rush before replacing him with Tyler Huntley in the fourth quarter Sunday. In two starts, Rush has totaled 251 yards passing, no touchdown passes and four interceptions.
In two games without Jackson this season, Baltimore has been outscored by a combined score of 61-13.
On how badly the Ravens need Jackson, Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum said, “It’s Lamar Jackson. He’s the best quarterback in the game, so he’s certainly going to help our team out.”
Since Jackson became the starting quarterback midway through the 2018 season, the Ravens are 4-12 (.250) when Jackson hasn’t played. Baltimore has lost its past six games without him and has failed to score more than 17 points in each of those games.
“Not having Lamar can’t be an excuse for us not winning,” wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins said. “But that does show how important Lamar is to this team and what he’s done.”
If Jackson does return after the bye, he and the Ravens will have a much easier road ahead. In Baltimore’s upcoming six games, only one opponent (the Minnesota Vikings) currently has a winning record.
It was pointed out to Harbaugh that few teams have been able to dig out of such an early season hole. Of the 284 teams to lose at least five of their first six games in the Super Bowl era, only four have rebounded to make the playoffs: 1970 Cincinnati Bengals, the 2015 Kansas City Chiefs, 2018 Indianapolis Colts and the 2020 Washington Football Team.
“Only four teams have done it? Good, good,” Harbaugh said. “What an opportunity.”
