We’re previewing THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, y’all! Get excited!
Here are some predictions for what we’ll see tonight when the 5-2 Jacksonville Jaguars take on the 4-4 Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
Prediction #1
The good news is that the Ravens will not have an NFL-caliber quarterback on the field on Thursday night.
Two-time MVP Lamar Jackson (thumb) and familiar backup Tyler “Snoop” Huntley (toe) are both on injured reserve. Baltimore attempted to salvage its season by trading for veteran pocket passer Jacoby
Brissett, but he won’t be available for this Week 9 matchup on a short week. The Jaguars will be facing undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano, who posted a 40.0 passer rating in his first NFL action last week. Lucky us.
The bad news is that the Ravens still have Derrick Henry.
The Yulee native has rushed for the most yards (1,564) and touchdowns (16) of any NFL player against Jacksonville. Henry has six career games of 120+ rushing yards and at least 1 touchdown against the Jaguars. He had that one 99-yard play where he—
I don’t need to remind y’all. It’s been 1,033 days since Henry last faced his hometown team (and the same amount of time since he suited up for the Tennessee Titans), but we all know that he’s one of the few non-quarterbacks in the league who can put an offense entirely on his shoulders.
This will be the Jaguars’ first matchup against Henry in a Ravens uniform. While Jacksonville will surely miss defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton, Jackson’s absence is a far greater factor. Henry averages 4.5 yards per carry and is stuffed on 16.0% of rushes with Jackson on the field this season, compared to 3.5 yards per carry and a 22.9% stuff rate without Jackson, per NFL Pro.
Over the past three weeks, a span in which Jackson played 1 offensive snap, Henry was hit behind the line of scrimmage at the league’s highest rate (60.0%). He averages a league-worst 0.8 yards per carry on such plays this season, compared to 6.2 yards per carry when he is not contacted in the backfield.
Even with the Ravens starting an undrafted rookie at quarterback, the Jaguars will need a sound strategy to contain wide receiver Zay Flowers… but the top priority in the defensive game plan this week should be preventing Henry from hitting his stride.
The prediction: Derrick Henry gets stuffed repeatedly, finishes with under 50 yards
Henry’s rushing over/under prop is set at 68.5 yards on FanDuel.
Prediction #2
On the other side of the ball, Jacksonville is as close to full-strength as it can get. Trevor Lawrence is operating the offense at an MVP-caliber level; skill players are taking turns having breakout games; and the offensive line is doing juuuuust fine.
The obvious driver of Jacksonville’s success is its head coach and offensive playcaller, Liam Coen. He’s been in a Steph Curry-like flow state for much of the season. The Jaguars have scored 30+ points in four of seven games, including each of their past two outings, and their +85 point differential leads the league by a country mile.
Ravens fans would probably like to see their head coach and defensive playcaller, Jesse Minter, be viewed as the defensive version of Coen. A young, innovative mind who can lead a locker room just as well as he can devise a game plan.
However, in two career meetings between a Coen offense and a Minter defense, the former coach had far more success.
In Week 7 of 2024, Coen called the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offense, and Minter called the Ravens’ defense (as defensive coordinator). The Bucs converted 12/18 late downs, produced 481 yards of offense, and scored 31 points.
In Week 11 of 2025, Coen called the Jaguars’ offense, and Minter called the Los Angeles Chargers’ defense. The Jags converted 8/15 late downs, produced 345 yards of offense, and scored 35 points.
Is Minter really going to be the guy to stop this freight train?
The prediction: Liam Coen’s offense scores 30 or more points yet again
Jacksonville’s team total is set at 24.5 points on FanDuel.
Prediction #3
The Jaguars are incentivized to get Brian Thomas Jr. going.
As many are quick to point out, the NFL is a “what have you done for me lately?” league. A few good games from Thomas could boost his trade value and convince another team to acquire him for significant draft capital.
But the Jaguars should want Thomas to stack strong performances, regardless of their interest in trading him. We’ve all seen what he’s capable of on an NFL field. The best-case scenario for Jacksonville isn’t “Thomas plays well enough that we can trade him for a haul.” The best-case scenario would be “Thomas plays well enough that he refinds his groove and helps make our offense as dangerous as possible.”
Both of his touchdowns this season came in the redzone. According to NFL Pro, Thomas has run a deep route on 3.3 plays per game, compared to 5.1 deep routes per game in 2024 and 5.9 in 2025. He only has 3 deep targets this season and has not caught any.
This week looks like a good matchup, though. Baltimore’s defense ranks bottom three in completion percentage (65.1%) and EPA per attempt (0.67) allowed on downfield passes. Minter’s unit has also allowed in-breaking passes to be wide open by 5+ yards of separation at a league-worst 24.8% rate. Can we get a deep post from BT, pretty please?
The prediction: Brian Thomas Jr. scores his first long touchdown of 2026
Thomas’ receiving over/under prop is set at 12.5 yards on FanDuel. He has +550 odds to score a touchdown.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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