The Baltimore Ravens are already fighting an uphill battle in a competitive division and conference. Their 4-5 record puts them in last place in the AFC North and outside of the AFC’s playoff picture.
Now, they will have to weather a month without star quarterback Lamar Jackson and backup Tyler Huntley. General manager Eric DeCosta swung a trade for Jacoby Brissett, who began the year as the Arizona Cardinals’ starter but was benched for Gardner Minshew in October. The 10-year veteran is expected
to start in Week 10 against the Los Angeles Chargers and beyond with the goal of keeping Baltimore’s playoff hopes alive until and unless Jackson can return.
The Ravens have a relatively easy slate of opponents coming up, starting with the winless Chargers and continuing with the Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All three are 3-5 and have looked exceedingly beatable this season; however, it is not hard to imagine any of the three winning comfortable against this current iteration of the Ravens.
Nikhil’s take: Brissett can move, but he does not bring the same rushing upside as Jackson or Huntley that often serves as the offense’s ‘get out of jail free’ card. However, his gunslinging nature will open up the Ravens’ downfield passing game far more than Huntley did. He may also have a shot at running a fuller, more complex system than Huntley give his decade of experience in the NFL.
Ultimately, the Ravens’ success comes down to two units who are not playing up to their salaries and/or draft slots: the offensive line and the secondary. The former finally has its best starting five in Week 9 and could gel in the coming weeks, though Thursday’s game against the Jaguars’ was not encouraging. Baltimore’s mini-bye could help Jesse Minter diagnose and address the problems in his pass defense that keep games close enough for Brissett to win. Best case, the Ravens manage to steal three wins out of their next four with Jackson returning to a 7-6 squad in Week 15 against the Steelers.
Worst case, though, is the status quo. The offensive line continues to struggle, keeping Brissett from scoring enough points to compensate for a leaky defense that cannot sort things out on the back end. Unfortunately, I am not hopeful that enough will change for Jackson’s return to even matter.
Zach’s take: The absolute best case scenario with Jacoby Brissett is he helps the Ravens three or four wins in the next five games, Lamar Jackson comes back, and the Ravens go on to win the Super Bowl. But that is not happening ,so the best-case scenario that’s realistic is that Ravens lose. A lot. Jacoby Brissett comes in as an NFL veteran and helps keep the offensive functioning. Guys like Zay Flowers and Derrick Henry get the stats they deserve because Brissett can operate and the young guys like Vega Ioane, Ja’Kobi Lane, Matt Hibner and Josh Cuevas can continue to develop in a competent offense. But the offense isn’t quite good enough with a journeyman backup and the defense doesn’t improve enough to win games. Lamar Jackson takes the time to fully recover instead of rushing back for a fool’s chance at a playoff run. Brissett starts the rest of the way and maybe gets one or two wins, setting the Ravens up to be in the top 10 of the draft. A functional product that isn’t as terrible to watch as Thursday’s fiasco but doesn’t stop the Ravens from landing a good pick.
The worst case scenario is Jacoby Brissett does do enough on offense to win some close games, but Lamar Jackson’s hand injury doesn’t allow him to return. Somehow, the Ravens fall bass ackwards into the seventh seed of the playoff, ruining their chance at a top draft pick, all while not having Lamar Jackson for the playoffs. The Ravens hubris and pride refuses to let them embrace the suck and they fail to set themselves up with a better draft pick to improve the 2027 team.
