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Since Lamar Jackson suffered a hamstring injury in a blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3, many fans have marked an Oct. 26 meeting with the Chicago Bears as the official beginning of the Baltimore Ravens’ comeback quest. The two-time MVP quarterback was a full practice participant on Friday, so operation “save the season” appears to be underway. John Harbaugh is not quite ready to make concrete decisions about Jackson’s playing status, however.
“We’ll see where it’s at going forward,” the Super Bowl-winning head coach told reporters, per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic. Considering No. 8’s practice status and the desperate situation the Ravens find themselves in after starting 1-5, Harbaugh’s non-committal response is somewhat surprising. Obviously, though, everyone wants to make sure Jackson does not incur any setbacks in the next couple of days. The last thing Baltimore can do is tempt fate.
The two-time reigning AFC North champions have a big hole to climb out of and no time to waste, as they prepare to face the Bears, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals in the coming weeks. This stretch, which will take the team through Thanksgiving, offers the Ravens a favorable opportunity to get back on track. But they will still need Lamar Jackson to lead them through it.
The 28-year-old dual threat started the campaign on an overall sizzling note, completing 71.6 percent of his passes for 869 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, those impressive statistics were not enough to prevent Baltimore from earning a 1-3 record in that span. A leaky and injury-ravaged defense that is allowing an NFL-worst 32.3 points per game has been the biggest problem thus far, but the the unit is getting healthier ahead of this Week 8 face-off with the Bears.
If Jackson is officially cleared to compete, Baltimore could resemble the squad that looked like a clear-cut contender heading into the season. Fans will refrain from getting to caught up in that massive “if” until the Ravens provide strong proof that they are indeed primed for a resurgence. A hopeful crowd will pack M&T Bank Stadium for Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET opening kickoff.
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