With a 21-7 lead in the second quarter and 12 seconds left in the half, the atmosphere at the M&T Bank Stadium shifted completely. On a 2nd & 10 from the Tennessee Titans’ 41-yard line, Baltimore Ravens franchise quarterback Lamar Jackson faced pressure from defensive end Jermaine Johnson and tried to scramble to escape. But as Jackson moved out of the pocket, Johnson leaped at him, and his helmet appeared to hit Lamar’s left leg. Subsequently, Lamar’s left ankle turned on the turf at an awkward angle, and he fell to the ground.
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The Ravens took a timeout, and placekicker Tyler Loop came to the field on the next play to kick a 64-yard field goal – the longest in M&T Bank history – to raise the lead to 24-7. As the Ravens Flock held its breath for an update on their quarterback, Tyler Huntley took Jackson’s place in the second half, and the team got the update they didn’t want.
“QB Lamar Jackson (ankle) is questionable to return,” the team updated on their official X handle.
However, the injury didn’t appear to be too serious as Jackson eventually returned to the sideline without a helmet – walking gingerly – to watch and cheer his team. At the time of his exit, Jackson had already logged 15-of-20 completions for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also adding 20 more yards on the ground across two carries. As we now wait for the official update on his injury, Jesse Morse, notable sports doctor for InjuryExpertz, offered a tentative analysis on social media.
“Lamar Jackson. Left high-ankle sprain, hopefully a mild grade 1,” Dr. Morse wrote on X. “I expect him to miss the rest of the game if the high/medial ankle is sprained, especially since they’re up 24-7. Not worth the risk.”
In Lamar’s absence, Huntley couldn’t add any more points on the board – although he didn’t turn the ball over either. In fact, with the Ravens up 24-10, Jackson had seen enough, and he left for the locker room with a little short of 5 minutes left in regulation. On his way back, he even slapped the hands of the cheering fans as he entered the tunnel.
On the Titans’ final possession, they did manage to score another touchdown to bring the game up to 24-18. But with the ball in Baltimore’s hands and just 1:12 left on the clock, they couldn’t do anything more.
As for Lamar, he was also dealing with a back issue that’d limited his participation on Wednesday in the week leading up to this game. Even though Lamar was elevated to full participation in the subsequent days, the lingering injury concerns from last season had kept everyone on tenterhooks.
Against that backdrop, seeing their franchise quarterback go down again wasn’t pretty. After the game, head coach Jesse Minter didn’t have much of an update about him either.
“A little bit of an ankle,” Minter said. “We hope, you know, I don’t know enough about it right now, but we’ll have to see where that’s at. But again, thought Snoop came in and ran the operation in a way that allowed us to get the win, what’s more important.”
When asked if Lamar could’ve re-entered the game if needed, Minter noted “there were some talks about that.”
Additionally, the Ravens also lost cornerback Marlon Humphrey to a calf injury and tight end Durham Smythe to an Achilles injury against the Titans. But Minter feels confident about the overall roster depth moving forward.
The days ahead will tell us more about the severity of Lamar Jackson’s injury. But for now, the Ravens move on to Week 5 to visit the Atlanta Falcons, with or without their franchise quarterback.