Lamar Jackson is the undisputed leader of Ravens‘ locker room. Even though the team had a bad 1-2 start to the 2025 season, he excelled with 54 of 75 (72% completion rate) for 722 passing yards and 9 touchdowns. Things were going smoothly for him until everything came crashing down.

On September 28 at Arrowhead Stadium, the Ravens trailed the Chiefs 13-27 midway through the third quarter. On a crucial 3rd-and-3 play, quarterback Lamar Jackson tried to run the ball but was brought down by Chiefs defenders George Karlaftis, Charles Omenihu, and Nick Bolton.

Karlaftis targeted his legs, and the combined tackle left Jackson with a hamstring injury. He was helped to the sidelines and did not return to the game. Backup QB Cooper Rush took his place in the game. Jackson went to the sidelines and threw his helmet in anger.

Before going out, he had only 14 of 20 passes (70.5 completion rate) for 147 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception. At the end of the 3rd quarter, as the Chiefs led by 30-13, the Ravens updated that his return was questionable. Things were heated even before that.

At the 1:27 mark in the 2nd quarter, when the Chiefs sacked Jackson, he threw his helmet in anger. It was enough to tell everyone that things were slipping out of his control. For the Ravens flock, this was a repeat of his career-long failure against the Chiefs.

Overall, Lamar Jackson has a passer rating of 103.1. But in 6 games against the Chiefs in 8 years, he only has a passer rating of 82.4 with 1,170 yards, 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. And just like the 20-37 defeat in the week 4 game, his poor performance has cost them games. Counting the September 28 matchup, they have now lost 6 and won only 1 against Kansas City since 2018.

The Chiefs, on the other hand, came out cruising.

They bettered their season record to 2-2 now, with vintage Patrick Mahomes firing from all angles. While they sacked Lamar Jackson 3 times, the Ravens’ defense took Grim Reaper down only once.

Mahomes then finished the game with 4 TDs, asserting his dominance. 73,552 fans cheered on as the Chiefs led by 20-10 by halftime and had almost sealed the game at the start of the 4th quarter, when Marquise “Hollywood” Brown scored the touchdown to take their lead to 37-13.

Even backup QB Cooper Rush couldn’t swing the tide, finishing the game with only 9 of 13 passes for 52 yards. Now, the starter is under pressure.

There’s nothing to worry about Lamar Jackson’s injury

After the game, the Ravens revealed that LJ suffered a hamstring strain. During the post-game conference, the HC John Harbaugh looked pretty serious.

When asked about the severity of the injury, he replied, “No, I don’t. I don’t have any real updates on the seriousness of injuries right now. There’s nothing that looks like it’s season-ending by any stretch for anybody, any of those guys, but we’ll have to look at those injuries tomorrow and see where we’re at going forward.”

The Ravens are already dealing with other injuries. DL Nnamdi Madubuike (neck) and DT Broderick Washington (ankle) are already placed on the injured reserve (IR) list. Madubuike played only 2 games (2 starters) this season and recorded 2 sacks for 7 tackles (5 solo). The absence of two key players was always a looming concern, and on the field, that fear became reality.

The Arrowhead was electric as the home team piled play after play. Now, Lamar Jackson needs to gather his strengths and bounce back. It’s high time!