The Miami Dolphins will host the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football to open Week 9 in four days. The Dolphins are coming off their best performance of the season, beating the Atlanta Falcons 34-10. The win moved them to 2-6 on the season and provides them some momentum heading into their game against Baltimore.
The Ravens also moved to two wins on the season on Sunday, beating the Chicago Bears to improve to 2-5. Baltimore played the last three games, including yesterday’s contest, without
starting quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury.
Jackson is expected to be back under center for the Ravens on Thursday.
The return of Jackson could be a spark for the Ravens to look more like the AFC champion contenders they were expected to be before the season started. It is not without drama however.
Ahead of this week’s game against the Bears, the Ravens listed Jackson as a full participant in practice. In reality, while Jackson did take part in the full workout, he was conducting practice as the scout team quarterback, not the starter. While it seems like semantics, the NFL requires a starter to take all the reps with the starting lineup to be considered a full participant. Working with the scout team should have lead to a “limited” designation for Jackson.
While the Ravens have said it was an honest mistake in how they categorized Jackson’s participation, the league has launched an investigation into the matter because competitive balance issues may be involved. Listing Jackson as a full participant implies he would be ready to play; listing him as limited for working with the scout team would indicate he was likely out for the game.
According to ESPN and Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the league could use this to set an example for the league, especially in the current environment with multiple people around the NBA being arrested in connection to a gambling investigation. Florio suggests the NFL could consider fines, forfeiture of draft picks, and suspensions as they work through exactly what happened.
The investigation does not have any bearing on the situation facing the Dolphins on Thursday, when Jackson is expected to be on the field. Miami will have to contend with the Ravens getting back toward a full-strength offense, especially if Jackson’s hamstring is healthy enough to let him incorporate a rushing attack into his play. Miami has struggled with running quarterbacks for several years, and Jackson is the definition of a running quarterback.
The Dolphins feel good coming off their win yesterday, but now they may be facing one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
