Category: Lamar Jackson

Roquan Smith injury update: Will Ravens All-Pro linebacker play vs. Eagles in Week 13?

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith practiced fully on Friday and is on track to play against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13

The Ravens are set for a monster matchup against the Eagles on Sunday, and their leading tackler is set to return to the lineup.

Roquan Smith practiced on Friday and should start at middle linebacker after missing the win over the Chargers with a hamstring injury.

Smith’s presence will be needed, and the NFL’s two best running backs will take center stage as Saquon Barkley (1,392 yards) and Derrick Henry (1,325) continue their battle for the rushing title.

The Eagles are 7-0 when Barkley rushes for over 100 yards.

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WATCH: Kyle Hamilton talks Salute to Service, Eagles vs. Ravens, commitment to military families

All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton talks Salute to Service, Eagles vs. Ravens, Notre Dame vs. USC and his commitment to military families

Week 13 is here, which means the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats initiative will be in full force, and Kyle Hamilton is taking the lead.

The My Cause My Cleats campaign will raise awareness of hundreds of teams that players around the league chose to help through customized cleats worn on game day.

Over the next two weeks, players will be permitted to wear footwear in colors other than their traditional team colors on game day, and Hamilton unveiled his cleats ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hamilton, in partnership with USAA, the official Salute to Service partner of the NFL, chose to help Our Military Kids, a nonprofit organization for kids with parents in the military, either deployed or recovering from combat injuries.

Hamilton spoke to The Ravens Wire about why this was the right cause for his platform while discussing his time with several of those children in the program that he surprised a few weeks ago at the Ravens’ Under Armour Performance Center.

“We had them to the facility a few weeks ago, and about six or seven of them, ranging from ages 7 to about 13, had a great time. I got to talk with them and play some football and basketball. We were playing for probably an hour. It was awesome.”

In the video below, Hamilton talks about his Salute to Service, gives an injury update, and provides some insight into his evolving role as a leader for the Ravens.

Hamilton discussed Baltimore’s matchup with Philadelphia and Notre Dame’s battle with the USC Trojans.

Chapters
00:00
Salute to Service: Supporting Military Families
02:41
Injury Management and Upcoming Challenges
05:42
Leadership and Evolution in the NFL
08:15
Reflections on Notre Dame and the College Football Playoff

WATCH: Lamar Jackson says Saquon Barkley leaped over a players head in HS All-Star game

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson says he once saw Saquon Barkley leap over a defenders head in a high school all star game

The Ravens (8-4) host the Eagles (9-2) at M&T Bank Stadium, and the biggest storyline will center around Saquon Barkley (Eagles) and Derrick Henry (Ravens), the NFL’s No. 1 and No. 2 rushers.

Both players are worthy MVP candidates who will battle for the rushing title and a chance at 2,000+ yards rushing.

Following Baltimore’s Wednesday practice, Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson told the media that he once saw Barkley leap over a defender’s head during a high school All-Star game.

Thanks to both teams’ explosive running backs and dual-threat quarterbacks, Sunday’s game will feature the NFL’s top two rushing teams. Philadelphia is No. 1 in the league with 193.4 yards per game, followed by Baltimore’s 180.2 yards per game. History suggests whichever team dominates on the ground will win this game.

On top of leading the league in rushing yards, Barkley leads the league in rushing yards per game (126.5), rushing average (6.2), and 100+ yard rushing games (seven, including five in the last six games). Barkley is T-4th in the NFL in rushing touchdowns (10), behind Henry (13), Jalen Hurts (11) and David Montgomery (11), while he is 1st in rushing touchdowns of 20+ yards (5), 30+ yards (4), 40+ yards (3) and 70+ yards (2).

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Ravens open as slight home favorites over the Eagles in Week 13

The Baltimore Ravens opened as a 2.5-point home favorites over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 13

The Eagles are atop the NFC East, and they’ll get a chance to make the ultimate statement to the rest of the league against the Baltimore Ravens, a dominant AFC North power.

Philadelphia is 9-2 after dominating the Rams (37-20) on Sunday night, while Baltimore moved to 8-4 on the season after a much needed, 30-23 win over the Chargers in Los Angeles.

BETMGM has revealed their early betting lines and the Ravens are 2.5-point home favorites at M&T Bank Stadium.

Moneyline (ML)

  • Eagles +115 (bet $115 to win $100)
  • Ravens -140

Against the spread (ATS)

  • Ravens -2.5 (-115)
  • Eagles +2.5 (-105)

Over/Under (O/U)

  • 51 (O: -110 U: -110)

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Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley are the primary obstacle to Lamar Jackson winning NFL MVP

Jackson earned his second NFL MVP award last season, and Bills fans believe Allen deserved the nod instead.

X, formerly Twitter, is where many people go to wage verbal warfare on social media. For some time, there has been an ongoing war between the #BillsMafia and the #RavensFlock, despite the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens being in different divisions and not having met in the postseason in recent years.

(The Ravens knocked the Bills out of the 2020 postseason in the divisional round in the only playoff meeting between these two teams).

The beef between bases centers around the National Football League Most Valuable Player award. Jackson earned his second NFL MVP award last season, and Bills fans believe that Allen deserved the nod instead.

Jackson had been running away from the rest of the pack this season, emerging as the clear midseason favorite. But now Allen, fresh off an actual MVP moment (helping to hand the reigning Super Bowl champs their first loss of the season), is running neck and neck with him.

Some oddsmakers now even have Allen as the favorite. So who is going to win? It all depends on how the voters define the term most valuable player.

If you regularly watch Ravens games (given that you clicked over to this site, we’re pretty confident that you do), you’ll notice that Jackson consistently makes something out of nothing.

Multiple times a game, every game, he takes a play that could be disastrous and turns it into something positive.

Steve Walsh, who played quarterback in the NFL for a decade and even led the Chicago Bears to a playoff win (not many people have been able to say that post-Walter Payton era), summarized it perfectly.

“Lamar Jackson, who I got to see up close and personal as a coach when he was in high school down in Florida, has developed his passing game over the years,” Walsh said in an exclusive with RG.

“But he still has unbelievable escapability ingrained deep in his talent pool to be able to escape and pick up three to five first downs with his legs on simple dropbacks.”

Walsh is right—Jackson has established himself as a phenomenal pure passer. He can consistently convert third downs and keep the chains moving in situations where it looks like nothing positive is happening, which makes him truly special.

Jackson wins MVP awards because he’s consistently saving the Ravens from bad situations.

However, you can also define MVP as a player who leads his team to higher ground despite having less to work with. According to The Sporting News, this concept works in favor of Allen and his supporters. They base their argument around the statistic of wide receiver separation.

As the chart below shows, WR separation metrics work strongly in favor of Josh Allen and severely against Lamar Jackson.

And having a chart makes this argument seem all the more scientific.

The numbers show that Jackson is the more efficient and prolific passer and the superior rusher.

However, Allen has led his team to a better record.

Allen

Through the air:  217 of 339 passing (64%), 2,543 yards, 18 TDs, 5 INTs

On the ground: 67 carries, 316 yards, 5 TDs

Record as a starter: 9-2

Jackson

Through the air: 215 of 321 passing (67%), 2,876 yards, 25 TDs, 3 INTs

On the ground: 95 carries, 584 yards, 2 TDs

Record as a starter: 7-4

Given that this argument will certainly not be settled tonight, we’ll just leave it there for now.

Ravens window for 2024 AFC North title has re-opened with Steelers loss

The fantastic finish left the Ravens just one game behind the Steelers for the division lead, with seven left to play

When the teenage/1970s version of Homer Simpson traveled to the future, which for us is the present (actually, to be accurate, it’s already the recent past), he was in pure awe of the very existence of Thursday Night Football.

Many Baltimore Ravens fans, as well as neutrals for that matter, probably matched the excitement and wonder of high school-aged Homer while watching this week’s edition of Thursday Night Football.

The Cleveland Browns’ 24-19 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers was an actual “snow globe” game, and that alone made it enjoyable to watch. Within this winter wonderland, you saw an extremely entertaining game that kept going back and forth during crunch time.

The fantastic finish on the snow-showered shores of Lake Erie left the Ravens just one game behind the Steelers for the division lead, with seven left to play. Plus, any time you see the division leaders drop a game to the last-place side, it’s a tremendous boon to all the other teams chasing them.

After the Brownies upset the Steelers in the Snow Bowl, the ESPN Analytics app updated its postseason predictor the following day. According to their projections, the Ravens have a 45% chance of winning the AFC North.

In other words, we have a division title race again! The model also gives Baltimore a 97% chance of making the postseason but only a 1% chance of earning a bye.

They do give the Ravens an 18% chance of reaching the Super Bowl, which is encouraging. As Brian in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy famously said, “60% of the time, it works every time.”

In all seriousness, though, the Ravens’ game against the Steelers on Sunday, December 21, could very well be the de facto AFC North division title game.

Should the Ravens have interest in signing veteran QB Daniel Jones?

Adam Schefter is reporting that the Baltimore Ravens are among the handful of teams that could sign veteran quarterback Daniel Jones

The Ravens have many needs as they head down the stretch toward a potentially deep playoff run.   The backup quarterback wasn’t the most pressing need, but things happened, and John Harbaugh wanted insurance for MVP candidate Lamar Jackson.

Adam Schefter reports that Baltimore is among the few teams that could sign Jones once he clears waivers.

Jones, who requested and received his release from the Giants on Friday, is expected to clear waivers on Monday at 4 p.m. ET. At that point, when he’s a free agent and allowed to talk to other teams, Jones should sign relatively quickly.

Jones was drafted with the No. 6 pick from the Duke Blue Devils in the 2019 NFL Draft. After earning a contract extension in 2022, his struggles have continued in his sixth season with the Giants organization. Through 10 games this season, he has thrown just eight touchdowns to seven interceptions with a 79.4 passer rating and 46.8 quarterback rating.

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WATCH: First look at HBO’s Hard Knocks In-Season with the AFC North

HBO released the initial trailer for Hard Knocks In-Season with the AFC North featuring the Ravens, Bengals, Browns and Steelers

The AFC North is the most challenging division in the NFL. The season started with four potential 2024 playoff teams and tons of storylines. As HBO’s Hard Knocks takes an inside, in-season look at this historical division, fans will now have an up-close look.

For the first time since its debut, the award-winning docuseries goes behind the scenes of an entire NFL division for the first time. Warner Brothers Discovery made the announcement back in June.

HARD KNOCKS: IN SEASON WITH THE AFC NORTH will document the battle for the AFC North crown during the final six weeks of the NFL season, as well as a playoff run for the division-winner and any AFC North Wild Card teams. The 18-time Emmy®-winning series will deliver its signature all-access coverage as it follows the Mike Tomlin-coached Pittsburgh Steelers, who have never been featured on “Hard Knocks” in the history of the series, as well as coach John Harbaugh’s Baltimore Ravens, coach Zac Taylor’s Cincinnati Bengals, and coach Kevin Stefanski’s Cleveland Browns. Quarterbacks Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, and Justin Fields will share the “Hard Knocks” spotlight with Derrick Henry, Ja’Marr Chase, Myles Garrett, TJ Watt, and an array of other AFC North star players.

It will debut Tuesday, December 3, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and stream on Max. Subsequent Tuesdays will air through the end of the NFL regular season and continue into the NFL playoffs in January 2025. HBO released the first trailer on Tuesday, and it looks as intense as the action presents.

Baltimore was the first team featured on the original “Hard Knocks” training camp series 2001. Since then, the Bengals have appeared twice, in 2009 and 2013, and the Browns in 2018, while the Pittsburgh Steelers will be making their debut appearance. Storylines to watch will include Patrick Queen’s arrival in Pittsburgh and the renewed Steelers-Ravens rivalry.

Contract disputes in Cleveland, Deshaun Watson’s return and subsequent injury, Russell Wilson’s debut, Justin Field’s arrival, and Joe Burrow’s return are just the tip of the iceberg of storylines and interesting subplots.

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Lamar Jackson is sick of the Ravens beating themselves

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is sick of the team beating themselves

The Baltimore Ravens suffered some ugly losses during the 2024 NFL season, resulting in many questions about the team’s actual contender status. That didn’t change in Week 11, as the team embarrassingly lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Baltimore couldn’t get out of its own way once again, gifting Pittsburgh a win in multiple different areas. After the contest, quarterback Lamar Jackson expressed his frustration with the outcome and the way it happened, talking about how the team can’t keep beating themselves up.

“Absolutely. It’s been that way ever since last year, I believe, going back to the AFC Championship game, we killed ourselves. The Chiefs game [in] the [season] opener, we killed ourselves. [The] Raiders [game], we killed ourselves, and today, it’s the same thing. We can’t be beating ourselves in these types of games. We have to find a way to fix that – it’s annoying.”

In their losses and even in some of their wins, the Ravens give the game away and become their own worst enemy. This worrying trend needs fixing, especially for a team that has such high hopes and is striving to win a Super Bowl for the third time in franchise history.

Mike Tomlin keeps outsmarting John Harbaugh, Steelers lead AFC North

Baltimore Ravens HC John Harbaugh has gotten far too comfortable allowing the Pittsburgh Steelers HC Mike Tomlin to walk over his team.

Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh never seems to outsmart Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, especially when it matters most.

Unlike Harbaugh, Tomlin doesn’t like finesse and beauty. He leads a rugged football team, led by his powerful defense and offensive ground attack. On Sunday, Tomlin stuck to his guns, and his team forced three turnovers on the Ravens in the pivotal week 11 win.

 

Even with Baltimore ranking No. 1 in rush defense, Tomlin still ran the ball 34 times, using a committee of players to forward his attack. Tomlin even dispatched wide receiver Cordelle Patterson and reserve quarterback Justin Fields to cap off the 18-16 victory.

Harbaugh not only allowed offensive coordinator Todd Monken to neglect running back Derrick Henry from the game plan, but he also opted out of an opportunity for the onside kick with the team down two points with under 2:00 minutes to go. The most embarrassing moment in the game was the broadcast zooming in on Harbaugh as he called the aimless final timeout with under a minute to go, not realizing the Steelers had converted on 3rd and 1.

Impulsivity isn’t the leading factor compelling Ravens’ fans to scrutinize Harbaugh. Instead, Harbaugh’s unseemly contentment with coming up just short and his postured composure after losing critical games for the franchise.