It’s stunning to think that the Baltimore Ravens could have almost a decade of one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and not make the Super Bowl once. But it might be headed that way.
The Lamar Jackson era was summed up fairly well Sunday. Jackson was back from an ankle injury. The two-time MVP’s return brought hope that he could lift the Ravens back to being a Super Bowl contender, starting with a win at the Buffalo Bills. One offensive play in, all that hope was gone.
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Jackson suffered a thumb injury following through on a pass on the Ravens’ first play on offense. He went to the locker room and was ruled out shortly after. After the game, Ravens head coach Jesse Minter said Jackson needs surgery and will go to injured reserve, which puts him out at least four weeks. Minter didn’t rule out Jackson missing the rest of the season.
Jackson was on the sideline for the second half with a black brace on his right hand. By the time he returned to the sideline he was watching undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano make his NFL debut, after Tyler Huntley left with a toe injury. Baltimore fell to 4-4 with a 36-10 loss to the Bills. Normally a .500 record at the beginning of November wouldn’t be the end of anyone’s season but it seems like it for Baltimore after Sunday. The Ravens’ defense tried to keep the team in the game for as long as it could but there was simply no offense without Jackson. That will be the case going forward as Jackson sits out.
By the time Jackson is back, the Ravens might be well out of the AFC North race.
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And if it was just one game against the Bills, or even a few weeks going forward, the mood might be different. But it’s way more than that. Jackson is in his ninth season with the Ravens, and the dream of an exciting era having a satisfying conclusion might be fading fast.
Jackson has one year left on a five-year, $260 million contract extension. Multiple media reports have said there have been no recent negotiations. Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said in January he didn’t want the contract issue dragging into April, and now it’s November. Both sides have said they want the relationship to continue but it’s way more complicated than it was when Jackson was given the franchise tag in 2023 and he came back on a huge deal.
Jackson will turn 30 in January. Injuries are becoming a big part of his story. Given how much he relies on his mobility, his game might not age well into his 30s. There was also a scathing piece by the Baltimore Sun after last season that reshaped the Jackson narrative, painting him as a player who is difficult to work with. Everything is more convoluted with Jackson’s future than it was a few years ago. It’s especially hard to navigate because of how good Jackson is. He’s a three-time first-team All-Pro, entered Sunday’s games second all-time in passer rating while also being the greatest running quarterback ever.
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The Ravens can entertain trading him — if they don’t want to go forward with Jackson after 2027 they’d have to make that move to recoup some value — but everyone knows the chances of finding a quarterback who can be as good as Jackson are almost zero. Seeing Baltimore struggle with Huntley and Fagnano at quarterback gives the Ravens a look at what the future could be without Jackson, and the floor is very low. But if this season goes south, it seems more and more likely that a divorce is on the table next offseason.
The story of this season hasn’t been written yet. Assuming Jackson returns, there’s a chance to set up a totally different ending with an unlikely playoff berth and postseason run. And, perhaps he and the Ravens simply come to a contract extension like they did last time. It’s not like the Ravens have a succession plan in place. But with one play in Buffalo on Sunday, Jackson’s future with the Ravens, what comes next for Baltimore and the ripple effects of those decisions around the NFL became the focus. It seemed like a turning point, and not a good one for anyone involved.
Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 8 of the NFL season:
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WINNERS
Andy Reid: It’s rare to have Reid in this category, but he and the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t have a great fourth quarter against the Denver Broncos. And it leaves the AFC West race wide open.
The Chiefs had a 24-13 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Broncos scored a touchdown with a two-point conversion to cut Kansas City’s lead to 24-21. Then Reid had a weird decision. In the rain he had Harrison Butker attempt a 54-yard field goal. A punt against a Broncos offense that had struggled for most of the game seemed wiser. Butker missed and the Broncos had great field position. Two plays later Jonah Coleman scored to give Denver the lead.
The Chiefs got to the 1-yard line but couldn’t punch it in. Two of the first three plays inside the 5-yard line were runs to Kenneth Walker III, who had been contained by the Denver defense most of the game. On fourth-and-goal there was a false start and then Patrick Mahomes was sacked on the final play of the game. The Broncos won 28-24.
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The Chiefs are still in fine shape at 5-2, but they have lost two in a row. They had a chance to put a huge gap between them and the Broncos, who are now 6-2 with the win, in the AFC West race but blew it. That’s uncharacteristic for the team and its head coach.
Drake Maye: At some point Maye had to look around and notice he was without A.J. Brown and TreVeyon Henderson, who were inactive, a portion of his offensive line and tight end Hunter Henry, who left the game with an injury in the first half. He probably also realized his New England Patriots trailed 13-3 at halftime to the Miami Dolphins.
Good quarterbacks find a way and Maye bailed out the Patriots. New England came back to win 24-19, with Maye making plays and the defense clamping down.
Maye hit Kyle Williams for a 43-yard touchdown pass, had a nice move on an option play near the goal line for a 2-yard touchdown run, then hit DeMario Douglas for a 48-yard touchdown. That took the Patriots from trailing by double digits to a comfortable lead.
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The Dolphins lack talent but they are playing hard and did well in the first half. Maye was under constant pressure and the offense was going nowhere. But he figured things out in time to avoid a bad loss.
The 6-2 Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers started the season by squeezing out close wins. As the weeks go on, they’re starting to look better.
The Cleveland Browns are not the litmus test, despite their 5-2 record coming into Sunday. Cleveland still has a bad quarterback situation and can’t live off last-second wins all season. Still, Pittsburgh left no doubt, which is the sign of a good team. The Steelers blasted the Browns 27-6.
Everything was positive. The Steelers’ defense played very well. The running game was fantastic again with Jaylen Warren leading the way. Aaron Rodgers was efficient during a game in which he didn’t need to do much. The Steelers have a sterling record and are getting better. That’s a sign of good coaching. Mike McCarthy is off to a fine start to his Pittsburgh career.
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Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played like a service academy team Sunday, giving up on the passing game altogether in the rain. It was OK because Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell were fantastic in a 16-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons. The Buccaneers didn’t complete a pass, but Irving had 170 rushing yards and a touchdown, and Gainwell added 140 more.
it was the first time since 1974 that a team won without a completion. The Buffalo Bills pulled that off in the rain and heavy wind with Joe Ferguson going 0-for-2 passing.
There were completions to Buccaneers, but they came from Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who threw four interceptions. Penix struggled in the conditions, while the Buccaneers largely didn’t even try to throw it.
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The running game was enough for the Buccaneers’ second straight win. The NFC South is bad again, so even a team that started 1-5 and has completed fewer than 10 passes the past two weeks should still have hope of winning the division.
Kirk Cousins: Every week, Cousins might be playing for his job. After the Las Vegas Raiders had a four-game losing streak it seemed like a change could be made. Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak said last Sunday everything would be considered, including a quarterback change, though he walked that back the next day.
Cousins will keep his job at least another week. He played very well, throwing for three touchdowns and getting another on a quarterback sneak as the Raiders beat the New York Jets 38-33 on Sunday. The Raiders allowed the Jets to score on their first six possessions, but their offense was good enough to overcome that. Cousins was very good, and smart in targeting Brock Bowers repeatedly. Bowers had 92 yards and two touchdowns.
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Cousins even got in a celebration after the touchdown, though he looked very much like a 38-year-old quarterback doing it.
At some point this season, top overall draft pick Fernando Mendoza is very likely to start. But it won’t be right away, after Cousins had a superb game.
LOSERS
Justin Herbert: Herbert’s precipitous drop this season is stunning.
While he’s not the worst quarterback in the NFL — Joe Fagnano, Tanner McKee and Deshaun Watson could all be starting games next week, after all — Herbert isn’t far off. Herbert’s astonishingly bad season continued Sunday as the Los Angeles Chargers fell to 0-7 with a 24-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Herbert had two interceptions and fumbled once. He had 257 passing yards but 54 came on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half that didn’t reach the end zone. The Chargers were so desperate they ran back-to-back flea flickers for short passes and moderate gains. It’s an unwatchable offense. The Chargers didn’t score a touchdown.
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Perhaps it’s all offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s fault. He has not been good at finding the strengths of his personnel. But Herbert isn’t overcoming that in any way. He has simply been a poor quarterback this season, which is hard to believe for a player who is just 28 years old.
Brian Schottenheimer and Christian Parker: The Dallas Cowboys are in trouble. Their coaching staff might be too.
The Arizona Cardinals, who benched Jacoby Brissett for Gardner Minshew late in the third quarter, came storming back to beat the Cowboys 33-30 in overtime. The Cowboys blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. Schottenheimer’s job security as head coach will be a big topic after the loss. Parker being fired or demoted from his defensive coordinator position seems to be an inevitability even if it doesn’t happen right away.
The Cardinals won despite missing a go-ahead extra point with six seconds left. They shook that off, even after having to punt to start overtime. Dak Prescott and his offense failed to score and Dallas’ defense couldn’t get a stop as Arizona beat Dallas.
It’s a horrific loss for the Cowboys and could have long-ranging ramifications. Parker’s defense has been awful. It gave up 467 yards even with the Cardinals changing quarterbacks after almost three quarters. The unit gave up four plays of 27 or more yards in the second half, including Tyler Allgeier’s 63-yard rushing score.
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Minshew had 188 yards and three touchdowns despite not coming in until late in the third quarter. Schottenheimer’s offense was inconsistent again too, and the 3-5 record reflects directly on him as a head coach.
The Cowboys have been hesitant to make changes despite a very disappointing start. It might be too much to ignore after one of the worst losses of the NFL season.
Cincinnati Bengals’ defense, even in a win: The old problems with Cincinnati’s defense are back.
The group hasn’t been terrible most of the season but it was Sunday. The Tennessee Titans, who were 32nd in total yardage and 31st in scoring offense entering Sunday, did whatever it wanted against the Bengals. The Titans had 440 yards and scored 36 points.
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The Bengals were lucky that Joe Burrow, who had his issues with three interceptions, bailed out the defense. Burrow put together a game-tying drive late in regulation and a rare good play by the defense, when Dexter Lawrence II sacked Cam Ward, sent the game to overtime. Burrow ran for a touchdown and the lead to begin overtime. Then Cincinnati got the stop it needed to finish a 43-36 win. Burrow had five passing touchdowns and another one rushing.
Even though the Bengals pulled it out, a team that gives up 36 points at home to the Titans is tough to trust. Maybe it was just a bad game for a defense that has been OK this season. But, given the Bengals’ poor recent history on defense, it’s fine to be concerned.
Jonathan Taylor: The Indianapolis Colts probably should have deactivated Taylor on Sunday. There wasn’t much point in playing him.
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The Colts are in for a rough finish to the season. After trading guard Quenton Nelson and defensive lineman DeForest Buckner earlier in the week, the Colts were wholly uncompetitive in a 42-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They trailed 28-0 at halftime. It’s the kind of loss that could lead the team to fire head coach Shane Steichen, even if it was seemingly trying to get through the rest of the season with him. The effort from the defense on multiple Jaguars touchdowns was severely lacking. It was an embarrassing performance for the entire franchise.
Taylor is the one big trade piece left, and the story will unfold one of two ways before the deadline: Taylor’s fantastic career with the Colts will come to an end with the team in tatters, or he’ll continue to play with a club that might win only a game or two the rest of the season.
For Taylor’s sake he will get dealt because the rest of the Colts’ season will be depressing.
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Vikings’ offense: Finally, the Minnesota Vikings’ defense couldn’t save the day.
The Vikings should have been able to score plenty against a questionable Detroit Lions defense. They put up only 15 points.
Minnesota’s defense held strong until Jameson Williams scored a go-ahead touchdown in the final five minutes, and the Vikings couldn’t answer. Detroit won 19-15, meaning there are no undefeated teams left this season.
The Vikings have been great on defense and questionable on offense all season. It didn’t matter for the first six games, which were all wins. Kyler Murray wasn’t the problem Sunday but he wasn’t great either, with 210 passing yards against a defense that has been giving up a ton of points and yards this season. At some point if the Vikings want to win the NFC North they’ll need some more offensive punch. It’s still lacking. And it will really get uncomfortable in Minnesota if J.J. McCarthy, whom they traded a few weeks ago, continues to play well with the Giants.
