The Ravens Are 4-2 and Waiting on an Ankle

Lamar Jackson was not on the practice field Wednesday as Baltimore began installing its plan for Cincinnati, per multiple reports. Head coach Jesse Minter said Monday that Jackson could "potentially" return to practice this week and described the ankle as "day-by-day." That is the entirety of the update, and it is the only story that matters in Baltimore right now.

The Ravens are 4-2 and tied atop the AFC North with Cleveland and Pittsburgh, with Cincinnati sitting a half-game back at 3-2. They have gotten there without their quarterback for two weeks and, by the underlying numbers, without much margin to spare.

Jackson sprained his left ankle in the October 4 win over Tennessee. He has not played since. Tyler Huntley has handled the interim: 429 passing yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions across six appearances, including 201 yards and two scores in the overtime win at Atlanta and 165 yards with a touchdown in Sunday's 13-10 loss at Cleveland. Huntley has been steady and turnover-free, which is exactly what a backup is supposed to be. It is also a ceiling.

The gap between the two is stark. Jackson has completed 70.8 percent of his throws at 10.1 yards per attempt with a 119.6 passer rating, six touchdowns and one interception. Baltimore's offense is built on the threat he creates, and Huntley's version is a shorter, safer one. Over the last three games the Ravens are averaging 21.3 points, down from their season mark of 26.0.

The late-game pattern is the more troubling one. Baltimore's offense has run 113 fourth-quarter plays this season for three touchdowns and 4.07 yards per play. Opponents have run 147 fourth-quarter plays against them for six touchdowns, 4.59 yards per play and zero turnovers. Sunday's loss in Cleveland fit the template — another second-half lead surrendered. Add 50 accepted penalties on the year and you have a team whose self-inflicted errors are compounding the injury problem.

Some of that falls on a line that is still being rebuilt. The Ravens traded for two-time Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens on October 7, then ruled him out for Week 6 while he worked through the concussion protocol. Vega Ioane has been holding the first-team center job in the meantime. Getting Jurgens settled would help whoever is taking snaps.

Cincinnati arrives rested off a bye and functionally healthy, with Joe Burrow at 1,361 yards, 11 touchdowns, three interceptions and a 104.4 rating. The Bengals are 0-1 in the division after a Week 3 loss to Pittsburgh and would even their division record with a win. Baltimore's pass defense is allowing 166.0 yards per game through the air, which is a middle-of-the-pack number against a quarterback playing at Burrow's level.

The matchup is at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday at noon, and the Ravens' own listing still has Huntley as the starter. Whether that changes is entirely dependent on an ankle nobody outside the building has seen since October 4. The Week 7 injury report has not been released, so there is no official designation to work from yet.

The broader read: this is a team whose record is carrying it. Its point differential is plus-24, its last three games have been decided by a combined 16 points of margin, and it has done this with a backup quarterback and a rotating interior line. If Jackson returns at the form he showed in September, the division race looks very different. If the ankle lingers into November, the Ravens will keep asking Huntley to win games 13-10, and that math gets harder every week.