The Baltimore Ravens entered Week 8 in good spirits thanks to the return of Lamar Jackson, which was hopefully going to cure their recent offensive ailments and give them a chance to get upset win over Buffalo Bills.
Instead, Jackson took the field for just one play before suffering a thumb injury and exiting without return. Tyler Huntley also exited early, and the Ravens were forced to play the majority of the game with third-string quarterback Joe Fagnano under center. While the Ravens played competitively
in the first half and made some good defensive plays, the wheels eventually came off and resulted in another blowout loss, 36-10.
Here are Baltimore Beatdown’s instant reactions to the team’s third consecutive defeat.
What an awful day. To get Lamar Jackson back just to lose him to the first play of the day to a freak football play injury. It’s all too common to see quarterbacks hit their hands on their follow through when throwing and this one turned disastrous. Then the offensive line proceeded to get bullied all day, resulting in Tyler Huntley getting hurt and Joe Fagnano getting harassed in his NFL debut. The defense wasn’t much better and was heavily aided by Buffalo mistakes that kept Baltimore in it longer than they should have been. The only positive from today was the defense did play with energy, even after Jackson went down, getting multiple turnovers but it didn’t amount for much as they still got shredded.
At this point, I’m done with this roster. Only people that should be safe are Kyle Hamilton, Vega Ioane, Nnamdi Madubuike, and Lamar Jackson (if they can find a way to convince him to stay after so many years of disastrous lines). Eric DeCosta’s seat is red hot at this point and Jesse Minter might not get much of a leash if DeCosta is ousted before 2027. I do think Minter should get a chance to build the roster his way before moving on from him but a new GM might not think so. — Zach Canter
Obviously, it’s a bad situation in Baltimore right now. Lamar Jackson injured his thumb on their first offensive play which is just a cruel joke from the football gods. I was however, very impressed with the fight the defense showed. Buffalo sports one of the best offenses in the league and the Ravens limited them the best they could considering the ineptitude of the offense.
We don’t know the extent of his injury or how long he’ll be out, but without Lamar Jackson, it will be a long season for the Ravens. Injuries have plagued the team all year but Eric DeCosta simply hasn’t been able to solve the issues across the line of scrimmage. It was clear in Buffalo today – regardless of who was at QB – that the home team had a far superior offensive and defensive line. It’s a tried and tested Super Bowl formula, but for whatever reason, the Ravens have generally chosen to money ball those positions in recent years.
Lastly, it seems like this current nucleus of veterans has run its course. Expect players like Andrews, Smith, Humphrey and more to be gone next year, and for the Ravens to hit the reset button on the team around Lamar Jackson. Even without Jackson, it’s shocking to see how bad the rest of the team looks which is a direct indictment on DeCosta. The decision to resign Mark Andrews might’ve been a fireable offense on its own. The question now becomes- do you trust Jesse Minter and Eric DeCosta to pull off a quick rebuild? — Stephen Bopst
This game was over the second Lamar Jackson left the game on the Ravens’ first offensive snap. This team simply does not have the talent to overcome losing their superstar quarterback. The offensive line is in the spotlight right now after a horrible performance that led to all three quarterbacks getting banged up. I don’t know how Jesse Minter can rally the troops on a short week to play a Super Bowl contending Jaguars squad. His defense played better this week, but they were unable to hold up for four quarters without any help from the offense. It’s hard to say that the season isn’t lost after another injury could sideline Jackson for several more weeks. Baltimore may very well become sellers at the trade deadline, although it will be difficult to get much of anything for some of their bigger name players considering their play this season and cap ramifications. I don’t know where this team goes from here. — Dustin Cox
Looking at this schedule over the next few weeks, I’d wondered if the Ravens could shift from being buyers to sellers at the deadline in a worst-case scenario.
Folks, I’d call this a worst case scenario.
Lamar Jackson’s immediate injury appears to be one that would have him down at least a month, whether it’s a dislocation of the thumb or something worse. Even so, with the deficiencies shown by the rest of this team, they can’t afford to be without LJ for a month and expect to contend for the postseason. I don’t think any single player, coach or member of the front office can solely shoulder blame, but that makes the road moving forward even more complicated. It might be time to bite the bullet, shed some of these larger contracts where you can and hope you can build forward with draft capital in a stacked 2027 class. — Kevin McNelis
