The Baltimore Ravens luckily clinched a playoff spot a few weeks ago, but they are limping to the finish line of the regular season. The team has gone 3-3 in their last six games, which enabled the Cincinnati Bengals to storm ahead in the AFC North standings, clinching the division crown.

The road to a Super Bowl will be more difficult for the Ravens without a home game, but when at full strength, they are as difficult of a team to game plan against as any in the NFL. Unfortunately for them, they are not healthy as concerns persist with starting quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Jackson has been sidelined for the last four games as he deals with a knee injury. Thursday marked exactly one month since the injury occurred according to Luke Jones, a reporter for WNST. Disappointingly, Jackson remains sidelined at practice as well.

That is certainly not an encouraging update for the former MVP. The Ravens have turned to Tyler Huntley in place of Jackson, who has gone 2-2 as a starter this season. While he has shown improvement over Jackson in some areas, such as the efficiency with completion percentage, the offense isn’t anywhere near as dynamic.

In four starts with Huntley at the helm, the most points the Ravens have scored in a game is 17. That is a number they topped in all but one of Jackson’s starts this season in which he played the entire game. Against the Denver Broncos, Jackson was injured early on and the team scored only 10 points in the win.

With a playoff spot clinched, the Ravens will likely hold Jackson out again to ensure that he is 100 percent healthy for the playoffs. While Baltimore could still move up into the No. 5 spot in the AFC, there is no incentive to push Jackson. 

Without him in the lineup for the postseason, the Ravens would likely be a one-and-done team. With him in the lineup, they would at least have a chance to pull off a road upset given how much more dynamic the offense looks with him on the field compared to Huntley.