As bad as the Baltimore Ravens‘ 1-3 start has been, things might get even worse in the coming weeks.
Lamar Jackson is likely to miss Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans and could miss up to three games due to the hamstring injury he suffered in the Ravens’ Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Baltimore Sun reported Tuesday.
Jackson was pulled from Sunday’s 37-20 loss in the third quarter, but it’s still unclear how or when Jackson suffered the injury.
“You can’t know for sure,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh told reporters on Monday. “It’s probably a little more added up a little bit in there is what I was told, but I can’t say. I don’t know enough to be able to say in any kind of accurate way.”
The Ravens have also kept quiet on the severity of Jackson’s injury as of Tuesday. But Jackson has dealt with more hits than usual over Baltimore’s last couple of games. He was sacked seven times in the Ravens’ Week 3 loss to the Detroit Lions, tying a career-high for the most sacks he’s taken in a game. In Sunday’s game, Jackson had six carries and took three sacks, with his last play against the Chiefs also being a sack.
If Jackson’s reported injury timeline is accurate, he would also miss the Ravens’ matchup against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6. Baltimore has a bye in Week 7 before taking on the Chicago Bears in Week 8.
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Cooper Rush would likely take Jackson’s place if the two-time MVP misses more time. The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback completed 9 of 13 passes for 52 yards after replacing Jackson on Sunday.
Jackson had some struggles in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs before departing, but he’s largely still played at a high level despite the team’s poor start. He’s thrown for 869 yards, 10 touchdowns and an interception through the first four games to go with a 130.5 passer rating, 166 rushing yards and a rushing score.
Still, Jackson’s efforts haven’t been enough to translate into wins for the Ravens at this point, but that might also be due to injuries that Baltimore is dealing with on defense. Defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike was ruled out for the season on Monday due to a neck injury, while edge rusher Kyle Van Noy, linebacker Roquan Smith, cornerback Marlon Humphrey and cornerback Nate Wiggins are all dealing with ailments.
Those injuries on the defensive side of the ball have caused the Ravens’ unit to rank 31st in total defense (406.8 yards per game) and last in scoring defense (33.8 points allowed per game) so far this season.
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