By admin 
Lamar Jackson has missed two straight practices with the sprained ankle that knocked him out of last Sunday’s win over Tennessee, and the Baltimore Ravens are headed to Atlanta for “Sunday Night Football” without knowing who their quarterback will be. The concern reaches well past one game.
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Jeff Zrebiec, who covers the Ravens for The Athletic, kept Baltimore on top of his division predictions this week but attached a condition. He wrote that “if Lamar Jackson’s ankle injury lingers for several weeks, the Bengals have a real opportunity to take control of the division by midseason.”
“They’re better in the trenches than the Ravens, as it is,” Zrebiec added.
Why the schedule favors the Bengals
Baltimore is 3-1 and tied with Cleveland for first place. After Atlanta, the Ravens go to Cleveland on Oct. 18 and then get the Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium on Oct. 25. Cincinnati is 2-2 after back-to-back losses, but it plays a Miami team that managed 77 net passing yards against Minnesota, then has its bye. The Bengals would walk into Baltimore rested.
Nobody with the team is describing a long absence. Coach Jesse Minter said Monday he doesn’t expect a long-term problem, and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Jackson has only an outside chance to play this week.
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“To Lamar’s credit, he is getting a lot of treatment and doing things,” Minter said on Wednesday. “When he is ready to play, he will be ready to play.”
The worry is how the offense looked without him. Baltimore led Tennessee 24-7 at halftime and didn’t score again in a 24-18 win. Tyler Huntley completed 8 of 9 passes for 63 yards in relief, and he is 7-9 as an NFL starter. Jackson has completed 70.8 percent of his passes for 967 yards, six touchdown passes and one interception, and he carries a 91.4 overall grade, according to PFF.
Zrebiec’s point about the trenches lands on a team that just traded for Cam Jurgens, a center who is in concussion protocol and isn’t expected to debut until next week. It also lands on a team flagged 13 times for 131 yards against the Titans. The Athletic’s Bengals writer, Paul Dehner Jr., wrote that the two Ravens-Bengals games will likely decide the division. The first is a little more than two weeks away, and Baltimore needs No. 8 on the field for it.
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More on the Baltimore Ravens
- Derrick Henry Reveals Why He’s Still Confident in Ravens Without Lamar Jackson
- Ethan Burke May Have Earned Bigger Role in Ravens Pass Rush
- Baltimore Ravens Playing the Long Game With Cam Jurgens Trade
- Chidobe Awuzie May Be Needed In A Bigger Role
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This story was originally published October 9, 2026 at 7:08 AM.