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Imagine being in a room with a few co-workers, all of you with the same job and on expiring contracts. Some are perhaps more skilled than others, but some are younger and offer a potentially longer career. This is the world that Ravens tight ends Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar have lived in this season and it’s the kind scenario that could have frayed the dynamic between the group and potentially the locker room. Then on Wednesday, Baltimore made a somewhat surprising decision, giving Andrews, 30, a three-year, $39.3 million contract extension that includes $26 million guaranteed. The deal makes him the sixth-highest paid player at his position in the league and will keep him in Baltimore through the 2028 season. Likely’s reaction? He said that he was “gassed” and texted Andrews telling him that he loves him, is proud of him and there’s more work for them to do. “I just watched my brother get paid, so I just see joy,” he said Thursday. The deal also means that the future of Likely, 25, and Kolar, 26, both of whom are in the final year of their rookie contracts, is suddenly much more murky than it was a few months ago. It hasn’t helped that they haven’t put up the kind of numbers that some expected, particularly Likely, who also missed the first three games of the season after breaking a bone in his foot during training camp. Since returning, he has just 18 catches for 223 yards and no touchdowns across nine games. Kolar, meanwhile, has just eight catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns this season. This past offseason, Baltimore had entertained the idea of trade offers for Andrews, who is in his eighth season and has seen a dip in his production over the past couple of seasons. But the right deal never materialized. Now the two are wedded for the foreseeable future. It’s something that Andrews, a three-time Pro Bowl selection, one-time All-Pro and the franchise leader in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, is ecstatic about. “Just super grateful, just excited for this moment,” he said. “It means a lot being part of this organization and part of this community, this city. Just being drafted here eight years ago it means the world to me to be able to go out on the field to be able to fight and compete with these guys and this team. I couldn’t ask for a better situation.” The signing capped a busy week for the former third-round pick out of Oklahoma after he got engaged last week. The deal also came together in about the span of two weeks. “It felt like kind of four years ago,” he said, alluding to his 2021 contract extension. “It happened extremely fast then.” Still, it took patience, he added. On neither occasion did Andrews choose to entertain free agency and instead becomes the rare player to sign a third contract with the Ravens. “It was extremely important for me [to stay here],” he said, adding that he’d like to retire as a Raven whenever that day comes. “I’d say I was very patient in this process and not try to control things I can’t control. … But it was extremely import to me, and I expressed that to them, to be able to stay here.” He has certainly had an impact, too, beyond his numbers on the field. Related Articles READERS RESPOND: Most fans say the Ravens will win the AFC North Ravens QB Lamar Jackson absent from practice Thursday with Steelers looming Staff picks for Week 14 of 2025 NFL season: Bears vs. Packers, Eagles vs. Chargers and more Are Harbaugh and Tomlin coaching for their jobs? Pressure is on. | COMMENTARY Mike Preston: Ravens needs to run the dang ball vs. Steelers | COMMENTARY “Even as a rookie, he formed my work ethic and probably doesn’t even know it, just by observing him, lifting with him, watching how he practices,” All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton said. “As a 21-year-old rookie, you’re the man at whatever school you’re at, a first-round [pick], you see guys like that who are the man in the league, working how he works and it’s hard for that not to be contagious.” Likely echoed similar sentiments, noting that Andrews has influenced how take care of his body, understanding of defenses and not relying on athleticism as well as how to study. He also said there’s more to be done, for however much longer they’re together. “I am just living in the moment, knowing that you have everything in front of us,” Likely said. “We try to win Super Bowl this year, one game at a time, one opponent at a time and knowing that I’ll let the rest take care of itself.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

We asked readers who will win the AFC North. Baltimore and Pittsburgh share identical 6-6 records entering Sunday’s game between the two divisional rivals. Cincinnati (4-8) and Cleveland (3-9) face longer odds to win the division. Here are the results from our online poll: Ravens — 61.7% (300 votes) Bengals — 21.2% (103 votes) Steelers — 16.1% (78 votes) Browns — 1% (5 votes) Here’s what some fans said about the AFC North race (answers have been edited for clarity and grammar): Based on the remaining schedule, the Bengals should win the division, however they will probably bungle it up. As always, injuries could change everything. The Ravens are done because every game from now on could be considered a playoff game and as recent history has shown, the Ravens’ coaches will coach scared. Not utilizing your best players like Derrick Henry is insane. Seems like he is in Monken or Harbaugh’s doghouse because of the fumbles earlier in the year. Finally, it doesn’t seem like anyone knows what’s going on with Lamar. Probably injuries or contract renegotiations bothering him. — Carl Unless the Ravens’ lackadaisical offense changes, the Ravens will be fortunate to go 2-2 over the next four games. Which leaves it all on the final game of the season in Pittsburgh. And Tomlin will save his job with another win over Harbaugh. But of course whichever team makes it to the postseason, it will be one and done. The AFC North is pitiful. — Robert The truth is that IT DOESN’T MATTER who wins the division! — Herb Hopkins Even if the Ravens beat Pittsburgh on Sunday, Baltimore has matchups against the Bengals, Patriots and Packers. Can they win two of those three? Not likely. Pittsburgh faces the Dolphins, Lions and Browns. Can Steelers win two of those three? I’m afraid so. Steelers beat the Ravens Week 18 on a Boswell field goal to make the playoffs. I desperately hope I’m wrong. — Mark It will be the Ravens, if they lock in and stop playing around. — Felipe Vargas The team that truly works hard and wants it. I’m going with the Steelers. The Ravens just don’t seem to have the desire. — Bob Noll Should be the Ravens, but will be hard to beat Pittsburgh twice. Also still have the Patriots and Packers. That 1-5 start really was a doozy! — Jason Garvert Not to jinx my boys but I’m still going with the Ravens. Nothing ever came to this team easy and this is no different. They will get the job done. We already had the losses so we will win out and then win where it counts the most. The playoffs! — Patrice Jackson It all depends on how Lamar plays. — Peter Sciukas Hopefully the Ravens, but this week’s game will determine a lot and show what the Ravens are truly capable of. They’ve been a disappointment all around this season so I’m not all that optimistic. — Tara Polson Related Articles Ravens QB Lamar Jackson absent from practice Thursday with Steelers looming Staff picks for Week 14 of 2025 NFL season: Bears vs. Packers, Eagles vs. Chargers and more Are Harbaugh and Tomlin coaching for their jobs? Pressure is on. | COMMENTARY Mike Preston: Ravens needs to run the dang ball vs. Steelers | COMMENTARY It’s Ravens Week for the Steelers — and it comes at a brutal time for a bewildered run defense Definitely not ruling out Cincinnati. Only two games back and everybody still has to play everybody at least once if not twice. — Jonathan Dimes The winner of this division should be the Saskatchewan Roughriders. — Terry Difazio No one will win it. Everyone will finish last. — James Thomas Doesn’t matter who wins, because none of the teams are good enough to beat the other teams that will be in the playoffs. — Tracy Walter-Campbell The way this is going … the Bengals. — Michael Gibson The Baltimore Sun reader poll is an unscientific survey in which website users volunteer their opinions on the subject of the poll. To see results from previous sports polls, go to baltimoresun.com/sportspoll View the full article

Another week, another absence for Lamar Jackson. A day after being limited in practice with an ankle injury, the Ravens quarterback was not at practice Thursday afternoon in Owings Mills. It marks the fourth consecutive week that Jackson has missed at least one day of work. What it means for his availability for a critical AFC North showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium remains to be seen, but his missing practice would seem to indicate that he suffered the injury during Wednesday’s session. Baltimore last played on Thanksgiving night, players had the weekend off and the first regular practice of the week was not until Wednesday. However, offensive coordinator Todd Monken said Thursday that he expects Jackson will play Sunday. “I just give him a lot of credit,” Monken said when asked about the quarterback not performing up to his usual standard this year. “He’s battling each week, trying to get healthy enough to be able to play every Sunday. That’s what I see. I see a guy that’s battling little nagging injuries, things that are stopping him from being able to get out there every day and practice.” Jackson was listed on the first injury report of the week Wednesday as a limited participant in practice with an ankle injury. It’s the second time this season that he has been listed with that affliction after missing a practice ahead of last month’s game against the New York Jets, though it’s unclear if it’s the same right ankle that he injured then. Already, he has missed three games this season because of a hamstring injury. He has also been listed with knee and toe injuries. What impact the cluster of injuries is having on his play is difficult to say and something that the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player has mostly dismissed, but he is having perhaps the worst season in his eight years in the league. In nine games, Jackson has averaged 204.6 yards passing per game, his lowest mark since 2022, when a knee injury kept him from the final five games of the regular season and the Ravens’ wild-card game against the Cincinnati Bengals. His QBR, a stat devised by ESPN that measures nearly every aspect of quarterback play, of 57.9 is also the lowest since his rookie season. Jackson, who holds the NFL record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback, also hasn’t been nearly as dynamic or explosive with his legs. His yards per carry (5.1) is the lowest it has been since his first year, and his rushing yards per game (29.3) are easily the fewest of any season of his career. Consequently, the Ravens’ offense has also struggled mightily most of the season. Coming into this week, Baltimore ranks 20th in yards per game (318.1) and 30th in red zone scoring (46.51%) after leading the league in both last season with a roster that is largely intact from a year ago. Accuracy issues have also plagued Jackson lately, with his completion rate under 60% in four straight games, the longest such stretch of his career. In last Thursday’s loss to the Bengals, he had two fumbles and an interception as well. “We have to hold onto the ball,” Jackson said after the game. “I’m not even talking about — I’m talking about myself. [I have to] hold onto the ball [and] make throws. I feel like I missed throws. That was — I don’t miss those. It has to be consistent.” Asked if injuries have affected his mechanics or play, he said no to both questions. “I just have to be more consistent,” he said. “I have to make those throws. I don’t miss them in practice, so I shouldn’t be missing them in the game.” If Jackson can’t play Sunday, or is limited in what he is able to do, it would be a blow for what is a crucial game against the Steelers. Both teams enter the contest 6-6 and with first place in the division on the line. They’ll meet again in Week 18 in Pittsburgh, but the winner Sunday will have the inside track to the AFC North title and a playoff spot with only four games remaining in the regular season after that. As for other injuries, Ravens defensive tackle Travis Jones (personal) was the only other player who didn’t practice. Wide receivers Rashod Bateman (ankle) and Devontez Walker (groin) were limited after being full participants Wednesday. Cornerback Nate Wiggins (foot), safety Ar’Darius Washington (Achilles) and outside linebacker Tavius Robinson (foot) were all limited. For the Steelers, quarterback Aaron Rodgers (left wrist) and linebacker T.J. Watt (toe) returned to practice and were full participants after being absent Wednesday, while wide receiver D.K. Metcalf (rest) and cornerback James Pierre (concussion) were also full participants after being limited a day earlier. Meanwhile, offensive lineman Calvin Anderson (knee), safety Kyle Dugger (hand), defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (knee), cornerback Donte Kent (ankle/knee) and safety Jalen Ramsey (rest) all did not practice. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (elbow), linebacker and former Raven Patrick Queen (glute) and wide receiver Ben Skowronek (shoulder) were all limited. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

Baltimore Sun staff writers and FOX45’s Patrice Sanders pick every game of the NFL season. Here’s who they have winning in Week 14: Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions (Thursday, 8:15 p.m.) Brian Wacker (9-7 last week, 132-60-1 overall): Cowboys Sam Cohn (9-7 last week, 130-62-1 overall): Lions Mike Preston (9-7 last week, 128-64-1 overall): Lions Josh Tolentino (10-6 last week, 132-60-1 overall): Lions C.J. Doon (10-6 last week, 123-69-1 overall): Cowboys Bennett Conlin (11-5 last week, 129-63-1 overall): Lions Tim Schwartz (10-6 last week, 118-74-1 overall): Cowboys Patrice Sanders (9-7 last week, 122-70-1 overall): Cowboys Seattle Seahawks vs. Atlanta Falcons (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Seahawks Cohn: Falcons Preston: Seahawks Tolentino: Seahawks Doon: Seahawks Conlin: Seahawks Schwartz: Seahawks Sanders: Seahawks Tennessee Titans vs. Cleveland Browns (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Browns Cohn: Titans Preston: Browns Tolentino: Browns Doon: Browns Conlin: Browns Schwartz: Browns Sanders: Browns Indianapolis Colts vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Jaguars Cohn: Colts Preston: Colts Tolentino: Colts Doon: Jaguars Conlin: Jaguars Schwartz: Jaguars Sanders: Jaguars Washington Commanders vs. Minnesota Vikings (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Commanders Cohn: Commanders Preston: Commanders Tolentino: Commanders Doon: Commanders Conlin: Vikings Schwartz: Commanders Sanders: Commanders Related Articles Are Harbaugh and Tomlin coaching for their jobs? Pressure is on. | COMMENTARY Mike Preston: Ravens needs to run the dang ball vs. Steelers | COMMENTARY It’s Ravens Week for the Steelers — and it comes at a brutal time for a bewildered run defense Ravens TE Mark Andrews has only one thing left to prove | COMMENTARY Ravens, TE Mark Andrews agree to 3-year, $39.3 million contract extension Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Dolphins Cohn: Dolphins Preston: Dolphins Tolentino: Dolphins Doon: Jets Conlin: Dolphins Schwartz: Dolphins Sanders: Dolphins New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Buccaneers Cohn: Buccaneers Preston: Buccaneers Tolentino: Buccaneers Doon: Buccaneers Conlin: Buccaneers Schwartz: Buccaneers Sanders: Buccaneers Cincinnati Bengals vs. Buffalo Bills (Sunday, 1 p.m.) Wacker: Bills Cohn: Bills Preston: Bengals Tolentino: Bills Doon: Bengals Conlin: Bills Schwartz: Bills Sanders: Bills Denver Broncos vs. Las Vegas Raiders (Sunday, 4:05 p.m.) Wacker: Broncos Cohn: Broncos Preston: Broncos Tolentino: Broncos Doon: Broncos Conlin: Broncos Schwartz: Broncos Sanders: Broncos Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers (Sunday, 4:25 p.m.) Wacker: Packers Cohn: Bears Preston: Packers Tolentino: Bears Doon: Packers Conlin: Packers Schwartz: Bears Sanders: Packers Los Angeles Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals (Sunday, 4:25 p.m.) Wacker: Rams Cohn: Rams Preston: Rams Tolentino: Rams Doon: Rams Conlin: Rams Schwartz: Rams Sanders: Rams Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans (Sunday, 8:20 p.m.) Wacker: Chiefs Cohn: Texans Preston: Chiefs Tolentino: Chiefs Doon: Chiefs Conlin: Chiefs Schwartz: Chiefs Sanders: Chiefs Philadelphia Eagles vs. Los Angeles Chargers (Monday, 8:15 p.m.) Wacker: Eagles Cohn: Eagles Preston: Eagles Tolentino: Chargers Doon: Eagles Conlin: Eagles Schwartz: Eagles Sanders: Eagles View the full article

As the Ravens and Steelers square off Sunday for yet another bruising December chapter in their storied rivalry, a discomforting question floats above both sidelines: Are John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin coaching for their jobs over the final five games? Harbaugh and Tomlin will meet for the 39th time Sunday, marking the second-most meetings between a pair of coaches in NFL history. Harbaugh is 17-21 against Tomlin. Could this be one of their final showdowns? With both teams suffering from disappointing campaigns, riddled by injuries and underwhelming performances, this particular meeting arrives carrying an unfamiliar weight. Tomlin took over in Pittsburgh in 2007. Harbaugh arrived in Baltimore a year later in 2008. Since then, they’ve met twice every regular season and an additional four times in the postseason. Only George Halas and Curly Lambeau, a pair of coaching legends who competed against each other 49 times between 1921 and 1953, have met more than Harbaugh and Tomlin. Their resumes are nearly parallel. Harbaugh’s career record sits at 178-110, while Tomlin is 189-113-2. Both coaches have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy once each as head coaches; Tomlin in Super Bowl XLIII in February 2009, and Harbaugh in Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013. Yet here they are, entering Week 14 as equals in a much more surprising way. Baltimore and Pittsburgh sit with identical 6-6 records, both in a wide-open AFC North, and both facing a deeply uncertain future. Remarkably, the AFC North is the only division in the league without a winning team. “We’re all focused now on the Steelers coming up,” Harbaugh said this week. “I think when you step back and look at it, after the first third of the season, our goal was to fight our way, play our way back into contention and position to compete for the AFC North [title], and we’ve done that. “So, here we are in the last third of the season with that objective and that challenge in front of us — to go win the AFC North, which starts on Sunday. That’s where we’re at, and that’s what our focus will be.” Related Articles Staff picks for Week 14 of 2025 NFL season: Bears vs. Packers, Eagles vs. Chargers and more Mike Preston: Ravens needs to run the dang ball vs. Steelers | COMMENTARY It’s Ravens Week for the Steelers — and it comes at a brutal time for a bewildered run defense Ravens TE Mark Andrews has only one thing left to prove | COMMENTARY Ravens, TE Mark Andrews agree to 3-year, $39.3 million contract extension Of the 38 games between Harbaugh and Tomlin, 28 have been decided by one score, including 19 by three or fewer points. The Ravens are 5 1/2-point favorites at home Sunday, but the betting spread feels almost irrelevant ahead of this particular matchup. Baltimore began the season 1-5, stumbling through a tough early schedule with blown leads and red zone futility. The Ravens have since recovered, winning five of six games since their Week 7 bye, although they’re coming off a lousy Thanksgiving night loss to Cincinnati, in which they committed a season-high five turnovers. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is reeling, having lost five of its past seven. Both coaches and franchises have built their identities around punishing trademark defenses. But those foundations have been shaken this season. Baltimore ranks 26th in the NFL in total defense (350.4 yards allowed per game), while Pittsburgh ranks 28th (365.1). Things aren’t much better offensively, either. Pittsburgh ranks 27th in total offense, including 28th in run offense and 24th in pass offense. Since Ben Roethlisberger retired in 2021, the Steelers have struggled to find consistent success at quarterback, rolling out starters Mason Rudolph, Mitchell Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson and now Aaron Rodgers. Speaking of Roethlisberger, the two-time Super Bowl champion recently offered his own criticism of his former coach on his “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger” podcast: “Maybe it’s a clean-house time. Maybe it’s time. I like Coach Tomlin. I have a lot of respect for Coach Tomlin, but maybe it’s best for him, too. Maybe a fresh start for him is what’s best.” Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson escapes Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt during Baltimore's wild-card round victory last season at M&Bank Stadium. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Entering the season, the Ravens were widely considered Super Bowl favorites, armed with one of the league’s best rosters. Oh, what a time. Over the first three months of the season, Baltimore ranks 30th in red-zone scoring, 20th in third-down efficiency, 20th in total offense and an abysmal 28th in pass offense. Two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson hasn’t looked like himself in recent weeks, dealing with several lower-body injuries. The Ravens have fallen short of their Super Bowl goal in three consecutive seasons with forgettable postseason exits, while the Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since January 2017. How much longer can yesterday’s glory keep tomorrow’s decisions at bay? The pressure is on. With exactly one month remaining in the regular season, here are the remaining schedules for both teams: • Steelers: at Baltimore, vs. Miami (5-7), at Detroit (7-5), at Cleveland (3-9), vs. Baltimore. • Ravens: vs. Pittsburgh, at Cincinnati (4-8), vs. New England (11-2), vs. Green Bay (8-3-1), at Pittsburgh. By January, we’ll know which direction each franchise is truly headed. Ten wins is widely viewed as the amount needed for an automatic playoff berth, but maybe nine gets it done in this version of the AFC North? The analytical gurus and playoff predictors favor Harbaugh and the Ravens to come out on top. Sunday’s expected slugfest at M&T Bank Stadium is bound to play a critical role in the final result for both parties. Harbaugh and Tomlin represent the NFL’s two longest-tenured coaches. Tomlin is in his 19th season, while Harbaugh is in his 18th. Tomlin has never posted a losing season, while Harbaugh’s last losing campaign occurred in 2021, when Baltimore finished fourth in the AFC North with an 8-9 record. That type of rare coaching stability is earned, cultivated and respected over nearly two decades of consistent regular-season success. But inevitably, even the longest, most successful eras face moments of reckoning. Perhaps this is an overreaction. Some might consider it premature. But with five games remaining and both teams sitting in unfamiliar territory amid a disappointing division, the coach who fails to cling to first place over the ever-important final stretch will inevitably be placed on the hot seat. Will it be Harbaugh or Tomlin? Have a news tip? Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSports and instagram.com/JCTSports. View the full article

The Ravens’ offensive game plan for the Pittsburgh Steelers should be simple: Run the ball. And if that doesn’t work, run it some more. With five games remaining in the 2025 regular season, the Ravens need to gather style points and cater to their strengths, which is running the football. They have a plethora of running backs, led by Derrick Henry and backups Keaton Mitchell and Rasheen Ali. In addition, Pittsburgh comes to Baltimore on Sunday with the league’s No. 28 ranked defense, allowing an average of 117.7 rushing yards and nearly 250 passing yards per game. Duh? Buffalo beat down Pittsburgh, 26-7, last Sunday as the Bills pounded the Steelers for 249 rushing yards on 51 carries. Running back James Cook had 144 yards on 32 attempts and Ray Davis finished with 62 yards on nine carries. Pittsburgh led at the half, 7-3, but surrendered 23 second-half points as the Steelers were pounded into submission. Buffalo was without its two starting offensive tackles, and quarterback Josh Allen was limited to short passes, completing only 15 of 23 attempts for 123 yards. That’s why the Ravens need to run. If Pittsburgh crowds the box or line of scrimmage with six or seven players, so be it. If the Steelers stifle the Ravens on a couple of running plays, great for them. But the Ravens need to borrow a copy from the Buffalo playbook and control the game as well as time of possession. Buffalo had the ball for nearly 42 minutes Sunday. The Ravens need to get back to their strength, their identity. For the past two seasons, they led the NFL in rushing and finished second in 2022. But in the past two years, especially in the postseason, they have gotten away from the running game because of coordinator Todd Monken, who needs more nudging from coach John Harbaugh to stay the course. The Ravens have gone out of their way to draft these big offensive linemen but always back away from their strength. Right guard Daniel Faalele is 6 feet 8 and weighs 370 pounds. Left guard Andrew Vorhees is 6-6 and weighs 320. They aren’t great run blockers, but they really can’t pass block. The Ravens have allowed 34 sacks this season. So, play to your strength. It’s like driving an 18-wheeler: it’s easier to go forward than trying to back up. The lack of depth on both the interior lines, especially on offense, is troubling. The Ravens haven’t had a No. 1 selection since taking center Tyler Linderbaum out of Iowa in the 2022 draft. Before that, it was left tackle Ronnie Stanley from Notre Dame in 2016. It’s understandable because of the five-year, $260 million contract quarterback Lamar Jackson signed in May of 2023. A lot of teams go cheap on the offensive line with quarterbacks drawing the big bucks, but games in the NFL are won because of the physicality up front. General manager Eric DeCosta did well to keep this offensive line together in the offseason with the exception of right guard Patrick Mekari, who went to Jacksonville. But the Ravens shouldn’t have signed Stanley to a three-year contract in March worth $60 million, not with his injuries and age (31). Second-year right tackle Roger Rosengarten has trouble planting his anchor leg and is off balance a lot of times. The 305-pound Linderbaum has had problems when teams slam nose guards into him from angles and both Faalele and Vorhees get over-extended at times, like they are top heavy. But of major concern for this group is that they haven’t been able to sustain blocks. They get discharged shortly after initial contact, which didn’t happen a year ago. Against Pittsburgh in the AFC wild-card matchup won by Baltimore, 28-14, Henry rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. The Ravens rushed for 299 yards in that game, as Jackson finished with 81 yards on 15 carries. Jackson is part of the missing element, too. Someone over at The Castle needs to explain to him that he won two NFL Most Valuable Player Awards in his first eight years because he was the best dual threat QB in the history of the league. All of this, “win the game from the pocket” nonsense has to stop. The old Jackson has to emerge, not the latest model. All this pretty boy stuff, “four wides or trips to the left,” needs to be curtailed, at least for the week. Related Articles Staff picks for Week 14 of 2025 NFL season: Bears vs. Packers, Eagles vs. Chargers and more Are Harbaugh and Tomlin coaching for their jobs? Pressure is on. | COMMENTARY It’s Ravens Week for the Steelers — and it comes at a brutal time for a bewildered run defense Ravens TE Mark Andrews has only one thing left to prove | COMMENTARY Ravens, TE Mark Andrews agree to 3-year, $39.3 million contract extension The suspicion here is that the Ravens miss former offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris, who died in August 2024. He had a major impact on shaping this offensive line and the Ravens played extremely hard for him. There are some other little signs. Henry is in his 10th season, and has slowed down. He is still a great runner, but there is some mileage on those tires. The Ravens substituted Vorhees with rookie Emery Jones Jr. last week in the game against Cincinnati, but according to Harbaugh, he played like a rookie. He needs improvement. In college, he was LSU’s right tackle, but the Ravens had him on the left side against the Bengals. That’s a tough transition from tackle to guard, and even harder when that player switches sides. The Ravens don’t have a lot of options for substitutions on the offensive line. Fifth-year guard Ben Cleveland, a fan favorite, has been a healthy scratch for the past three weeks, which shows what the Ravens think of him. But at least Sunday, the Ravens get Pittsburgh. They have some age on their defensive line, and they couldn’t stop the Bills. They can’t stop the Ravens, either. The Ravens need to play to their strength while trying to gain some momentum and style points. It’s the way this team was built. Run Ravens, run. Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article

By Brian Batko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Dec. 3—Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson didn’t have much fun reviewing his team’s 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills. “The film kind of made it worse,” he said Wednesday after practice. “You realize that they just did the same thing over and over again and were very successful. The caliber of players we have, the caliber of schematics we have, that shouldn’t happen. “Obviously, it was good to watch the film, but it pissed us all off.” If Wilson and his teammates want to change their mood as they prepare for the Ravens this weekend in a huge AFC North clash, pivoting to the tape from their last matchup won’t lift their spirits at all. Despite the caliber of talent and all those schematics, the 249 rushing yards they allowed to Buffalo actually pales in comparison to the 299 they gave up in last season’s playoff rout in Baltimore. That 28-14 drubbing was the last shovel of dirt on the five-game skid that buried the Steelers following their hot start. Just a few weeks prior, the Ravens ran for 220 in the same stadium. “Yeah, it sucked,” Wilson said. “Last year was obviously my rookie year. We started 10-3, so I was like, ‘Wow, the NFL is pretty fun.’ … We’re trying to not let that happen again.” The Ravens are trying to avoid deja vu themselves. They let the Cincinnati Bengals walk into their building on Thanksgiving and deal them their first defeat since Oct. 12. Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry remain, which makes any defensive plan difficult to formulate. For his part, Wilson played just 36% of the snaps in that wild-card game. One of the moves the Steelers made in an effort to upgrade their linebacker corps was signing Malik Harrison, who spent the past five seasons in Baltimore, where he was a third-round pick. “That’s something I take pride in,” Harrison said. “That’s why I’m here. … That’s basically what my career has been — just being that thumper, physical player.” None other than Vince Williams, arguably the team’s most physical inside linebacker in recent memory, took to social media during the Bills game to give his two cents. It may have gone unnoticed as other Steelers alumni are giving their 98 cents, but old No. 98 had a concise point on what’s ailing the defense. Williams, seemingly referring to his beloved position, remarked that the young players are “very talented but not downhill.” And in his roundabout way, he questioned the loss of Elandon Roberts over offseason. “Would have been nice to have a [Robert Spillane] in the middle tonight,” Williams posted on X. “Even an ERob.” To be fair, Roberts played the lion’s share of the snaps over Wilson in that postseason pummeling, so it happened on his watch, too. And thus it comes back to coaching yet again with this team and this defense, no matter what Wilson or Harrison or any other players put forth. It’s an interesting twist on the latest chapter of Steelers-Ravens, Mike Tomlin versus John Harbaugh. Both coaches need their team to respond to adversity — to put it lightly — and the fate of their seasons may well depend on it. “Of course,” Wilson said. “It’s kind of funny, because around here, obviously the energy’s not low but we’ve lost some games we definitely shouldn’t have lost. But we still control our own destiny. We still have a chance to have home playoff games, win this division, and that’s what’s on our mind. This Sunday is one of the biggest tests for that.” They better bring much different answers to the table this time around. © 2025 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Visit www.post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. View the full article

In a contract year meant to create competition at tight end, Mark Andrews has reminded everyone that he’s still the standard, an “all-time Raven,” as described by general manager Eric DeCosta. Late Wednesday evening, the two parties inked a three-year contract extension worth $39.3 million that will pay Andrews $26 million in guaranteed salary. This somewhat surprising in-season extension was a merit-based decision rooted in reliability and Andrews’ decorated resume. Andrews, 30, already is the franchise’s all-time leader in receptions (473), receiving yards (5,862) and receiving touchdowns (56), the holder of Baltimore’s triple crown. He also leads the Ravens this season with five receiving touchdowns across 37 catches and 332 yards, even amidst an offense that has sputtered in stretches and endured several weeks without a fully healthy Lamar Jackson. Andrews’ average of 27.7 yards per game leaves much to be desired, but that might be more reflective of Baltimore’s inconsistent offense and 28th-ranked passing attack. When the Ravens need a steadying presence, Jackson often still looks to No. 89. If Jackson were ever to appear on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” there’s a high chance that Andrews might be on his “Phone A Friend” contact list. Andrews’ extension arrived in a season in which Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar were supposed to make their own cases as they entered the final year of their rookie deals. It wasn’t long ago that Likely, another close friend of Jackson’s, was considered the franchise’s next great tight end. But after he suffered a foot injury during training camp, Likely has struggled to find his stride. He entered last Thursday’s game with just 128 receiving yards. And while Likely racked up 95 yards in the Week 13 contest to raise his season total to 223, he critically fumbled away a sure-touchdown at the goal line that dramatically swung momentum toward Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Kolar has held his own, particularly as a blocker, and has made timely catches when called upon. He’s posted eight catches for 105 yards with a career-high two touchdowns. But neither tight end commands Jackson’s faith the way Andrews does. The quarterback-tight end pairing works like butter on toast. Just a smooth, reliable connection. Related Articles Ravens, TE Mark Andrews agree to 3-year, $39.3 million contract extension Ravens’ Lamar Jackson deals with injury as ‘must-win’ Steelers game looms Ar’Darius Washington is back. Can he be the Ravens’ spark plug again? Ravens’ Tyler Loop stars in replacing Justin Tucker: ‘This kid’s got it’ Ravens’ John Harbaugh explains Derrick Henry’s usage in loss to Bengals Andrews’ age might cause concern for some fans and pundits. There’s validity to that argument. Success at the position, particularly as a pass catcher, is predicated around speed and physicality. Some might argue dedicating the money spent on Andrews toward Likely, 25, or Kolar, 26, would’ve been the more logical choice given the differences in mileage. But Andrews provides legitimate consistency and production, and Baltimore is banking that his body holds up over the next few seasons. Just a month ago, Andrews was quietly floated in league circles as a possible trade candidate — not because the Ravens necessarily wanted to move him, but because teams wondered if they could acquire a functional offensive playmaker if the Ravens might pivot toward youth at the position. “[I am] just focused on living in the now and being in the present,” Andrews said the day after the trade deadline on Nov. 5. “I know how much love and support this organization has for me, the people within the organization and what I bring to this team. “I take a lot of care of my body. That’s something throughout the years that I’ve grown to adapt to. I always say I feel better than I ever have, but truly, the way I take care of my body, the things I eat — I’ve really never felt better. I’m running faster than I ever have. I’m moving better, and I feel great.” Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson celebrates Mark Andrews’ touchdown catch against the Lions. Andrews has long been one of Jackson's favorite targets, but his postseason success is lacking. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) It’s been an eventful week for Andrews. On Friday night, he posted that he became engaged to his girlfriend, Elena Yates. By Wednesday afternoon, he exited the practice field in a noticeably bright mood, presumably knowing that he had $26 million in guaranteed salary on the way. In addition to his pass-catching abilities, Andrews also has become a central figure in the Ravens’ version of the “tush push,” in which the veteran tight end slides under center to take the snap. Baltimore has created variances of the play, too, highlighted by Andrews’ go-ahead 35-yard rushing touchdown on a fake “tush push” play in the team’s Nov. 16 road win over Cleveland. For all his production and leadership, though, Andrews has never scored a postseason touchdown. Andrews also infamously dropped a pass from Jackson on a game-tying 2-point try in Baltimore’s season-ending 27-25 loss to the Bills last January. Fair or unfair, those playoff moments — or failures — define careers. Entering the team’s Week 14 matchup against the Steelers, the Ravens have a 64% chance to make the playoffs, according to The New York Times’ playoff simulator. If Baltimore is indeed crowned AFC North champs for the third consecutive year by season’s end, then Andrews must deliver in the playoff moments that follow. Maybe that is the final evolution of Andrews’ storied career. He’s already the franchise’s leading receiver across several categories and he’s already Jackson’s most trusted target. Among the three in-house candidates, all in contract years, the Ravens paid the proven tight end. Now Andrews needs to make sure his next unforgettable moment doesn’t come from a critical drop, but from playoff touchdowns and victories that help rewrite his postseason story and show a passionate fan base why he deserved this extension. Have a news tip? Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSports and instagram.com/JCTSports. View the full article

Ravens tight end Mark Andrews will be staying in Baltimore a little longer. On Wednesday, he agreed to a three-year contract extension that will keep him with the Ravens through 2028, the team announced. He was slated to be a free agent after this season. The deal is worth $39.3 million with $26 million guaranteed, according to a source with direct knowledge of the contract. That makes Andrews the sixth-highest paid tight end in terms of average annual value behind the Cleveland Browns’ David Njoku and is his third contract with the team. “Mark is an all-time Raven—a top competitor and Pro Bowl tight end who is also a big part of our Baltimore community,” general manager Eric DeCosta said in a statement. It was also a somewhat surprising move. Fourth-year tight ends Isaiah Likely, 25, and Charlie Kolar, 26, are both in the final year of their rookie contracts and are scheduled to be free agents in the offseason. Andrews, 30, is in his eighth season and has seen his production dip in recent years. Last season, Andrews led the team in receiving touchdowns (11) but averaged just 39.6 receiving yards per game, his lowest mark since his rookie year in 2018. This season, he is averaging 27.7 yards per contest, though he does lead the team in receiving touchdowns (5) and is second in receptions (37) and yards (332). He was considered a potential trade candidate this past offseason as well. But Andrews, who is the franchise leader in catches (473), yards (5,862) and receiving touchdowns (56), has also long been a dependable and favorite target for quarterback Lamar Jackson, with both players entering the league the same year. A third-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2018, Andrews quickly emerged as a go-to in Baltimore’s offense and developed into one of the NFL’s best receiving tight ends. A three-time Pro Bowl selection who was also first-team All-Pro in 2021, he is 28th among tight ends in career catches, 24th in receiving yards and 12th in receiving touchdowns. He set the franchise record for receiving yards earlier this season in a Week 11 win over the Cleveland Browns and in Thursday night’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals broke the mark for career receptions, too. “I’m extremely thankful,” he said of the record after the victory over the Browns. “It’s extremely humbling just to think about all the players, the coaches and this incredible organization that I’ve been able to play for. Without them, none of that’s possible. It’s been a lot of hard work.” His career hasn’t been without its tribulations, though. Most notable among them was a fumble and dropped 2-point conversion pass with 1:33 remaining in a divisional round playoff game against the Buffalo Bills last season. The Bills went on to win, 27-25, to advance to the AFC championship. Related Articles Ravens TE Mark Andrews has only one thing left to prove | COMMENTARY Ravens’ Lamar Jackson deals with injury as ‘must-win’ Steelers game looms Ar’Darius Washington is back. Can he be the Ravens’ spark plug again? Ravens’ Tyler Loop stars in replacing Justin Tucker: ‘This kid’s got it’ Ravens’ John Harbaugh explains Derrick Henry’s usage in loss to Bengals Still, the Ravens felt compelled to bring him back rather than trade him or let him become a free agent and in doing so the move could spell the end for the younger Likely or Kolar. Baltimore has around two dozen players due to be free agents, is tight on salary cap space and would like to sign Jackson to a contract extension sooner than later with a $74.5 million cap hit looming beginning in 2026. Likely also hasn’t helped himself this season. After suffering a broken foot during training camp, he missed the first three games of the season. Since returning he has just 18 catches for 223 yards and no touchdowns across nine games. Likely also had the ball knocked out of his hands as he was about to cross the goal line Thursday night against the Bengals. It went out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a touchback for Cincinnati. Kolar, meanwhile, has just eight catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns this season. As for Andrews, the contract marks his third with the organization, a rarity, after he signed a four-year, $56 million extension in September 2021, the same year his rookie deal was due to expire. That made him the third-highest-paid tight end in the NFL at the time. Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

Lamar Jackson was back at Ravens practice Wednesday in Owings Mills. He was also a limited participant and on the team’s injury report again. It was a familiar affliction: his ankle. That after hamstring, knee and toe injuries over the course of what has been an incongruent season for the quarterback and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player. Because of his latest trauma, he was not available to reporters afterward because he was getting treatment following the two-hour session after having missed a day of practice each of the past three weeks because of injuries. It’s unclear how his ankle held up during Wednesday’s practice. Jackson’s latest injury, though, comes in the wake of an ugly 32-14 Thanksgiving night debacle at home against the Cincinnati Bengals and after a mini-bye with the weekend off. “It’s always good to get a couple days rest probably for everybody,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of Jackson’s latest affliction. “So that’s a positive in that sense. It wasn’t very enjoyable for us. It would’ve been better if we would’ve won the game. “[But] it’s good to have him out there doing what he did today. It’s a plus.” Jackson’s performance of late — along with the rest of the offense — has of course been anything but. If Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills — when the Ravens scored 40 points and rolled up 432 yards — was the apogee for what was expected to be a dynamic and explosive offense, then last Thursday against Cincinnati was the nadir. Facing the NFL’s worst defense, Baltimore turned the ball over five times (three of them courtesy of Jackson), went 3-for-10 on third down, was nearly doubled up in time of possession and managed just seven points over its final 12 possessions of the cringeworthy loss. Now comes a showdown against the most bitter of rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium. Once the fiercest and perhaps best battle in the sport, its reputation has been diminished in large part because of both teams being just 6-6. First place in the AFC North is on the line — someone has to win it after all — but perhaps the most telling tidbit of how far it has fallen is that it marks the first time since 1999 that the two foes will play a game in December when neither is above .500. The Ravens will have a chance to change that and Pittsburgh, at least on paper, would seem to be a welcome tonic. On Sunday, the Steelers were gashed at home by the Buffalo Bills, who ran for 249 yards in a 26-7 victory. It was also their fifth loss in seven games and left quarterback Aaron Rodgers bloodied and battered. But much of Baltimore’s success will hinge on its quarterback, though he’s far from alone in that endeavor. “We just gotta execute our plays,” wide receiver Rashod Bateman said. “We gotta do whatever we gotta do to be successful. There’s a lot of errors that we gotta clean up.” Bateman added that the offense has also felt out of sync on the field at times. “I feel like we have been all year,” he said. “We had our good days, we had our bad days, but we know what we can do and we all know what we’re capable of so to go out there and not do what we can do doesn’t feel good.” While Jackson has rightly gotten the lion’s share of credit when the Ravens have won, he also just as accurately gets much of the blame when they don’t. That’s how it goes for any quarterback and especially Baltimore’s. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson receives a snap during practice. Baltimore is preparing for a critical AFC North clash with Pittsburgh. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) In the Bengals loss, Jackson completed just 17 of 32 pass attempts for 246 yards, was intercepted once, fumbled twice inside his own 20-yard line and was sacked three times. It was a microcosm of all of his performances of late. He hasn’t produced a touchdown in any of the past three games and has completed just 56% of his passes over the past four while also not hitting the 60% mark in any of them for the longest such streak of his career. On the ground, he is averaging just 5.8 rushing attempts and 29.3 rushing yards per game, both easily the lowest marks of his career, and hasn’t had a run for more than 20 yards all year. On Monday, Harbaugh also lamented the Ravens’ lack of a rushing attack, which included just 10 carries in the Bengals game for Derrick Henry, who was mystifyingly out-snapped by second-year fifth-round back Rasheen Ali. But Harbaugh stewed over the inefficiency of which the entire operation was carried out, whether it was not getting in the right play as much as he would have liked to see or the correct adjustments being made amid what the defense was throwing at them. But that was then. Harbaugh said on Wednesday that they can’t live in the past and that, “It’s business right now. Just trying to focus on the job at hand.” It’s a point that isn’t lost on Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who in his ninth season understands the Steelers as well as anyone in the locker room. He has also endured the rare turbulent season in Baltimore. Asked if the looming matchup feels any different, he said no but acknowledged that “when I look at it, it is a little different. I guess the AFC North is the mid conference, and that’s not normal.” That also prompted linebacker Roquan Smith to pose a question to teammates. “It would be crazy for me to say if you don’t look forward at all, but honestly, it’s more so about the moment that we have right now,” Smith said. “That was a question I posed to the guys [like], ‘What are you willing to do for the game?’ And I think that’s what it just boils down to. I think this is a perfect week for that.” Related Articles Ravens TE Mark Andrews has only one thing left to prove | COMMENTARY Ravens, TE Mark Andrews agree to 3-year, $39.3 million contract extension Ar’Darius Washington is back. Can he be the Ravens’ spark plug again? Ravens’ Tyler Loop stars in replacing Justin Tucker: ‘This kid’s got it’ Ravens’ John Harbaugh explains Derrick Henry’s usage in loss to Bengals In Humphrey’s mind a simple thought came to the fore. “The thing that clicked in my head that I started thinking about is talk is cheap, man,” Humphrey said, adding that he doesn’t feel they have played great, are right above good and that not all three units between offense, defense and special teams have played great in the same game. “How you play will speak way louder than your words,” Humphrey said. “If you can’t get up for this one I think that shows something about your character, I think that shows something about your will and honestly I think that shows that you’re either a Raven or you’re not a Raven. “How we come out of this game, how we prepare this week echoes not only for this game but for the rest of the season because we’re basically in playoff football right now. They say there is no must-win game; this is definitely a must-win game.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

How’s Ar’Darius Washington feeling? On Tuesday, he posted a photo to Instagram of a lion, eyes shut, nose to the sky, stretching its neck as if sniffing the fresh air for the first time in months. Washington typed above the jungle cat, “they done woke up the lion.” It’s apt imagery for the Ravens safety who has not played yet this season because of an Achilles tendon tear in May that required surgery. The undrafted Washington blossomed into the defensive darling of the 2024 Ravens. He even earned a spot in Ravens-Steelers lore with a forced fumble at the goal line last December. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said that Washington has a chance to suit up Sunday afternoon in what players deemed a “must-win” game against the Steelers. “I wouldn’t say it’s a probability,” Harbaugh said, “but I would say it’s a possibility.” Either way, it’s an impressive rehab timeline for a player thought to be on the shelf for the season. Washington once told his coach that he’d be back on the field by November, so if he plays this weekend, he’ll have been pretty darn close to that target date. Washington’s first practice of the year, which he was listed as limited for, coincided with perfect attendance Wednesday. That includes Lamar Jackson, who participated in the first practice of the week for the first time in a month, though he was limited. Nate Wiggins practiced, too. Baltimore’s top cornerback missed the entire second half against Cincinnati with a foot injury, was spotted in a TikTok wearing a boot revealing his pain level was a seven out of 10, and moved smoothly through positional drills by midweek. One other notable returnee was outside linebacker Tavius Robinson. The third-year pass rusher broke his foot in Week 6 during a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Robinson was a limited practice participant Wednesday but won’t be available against the Steelers, though his return is imminent. Wide receivers Rashod Bateman (ankle) and Devontez Walker (groin) were each named on the team’s injury report, but both were full go. For Washington, having the chance to make an impact eyeing down a crucial stretch of their season is a credit to what teammates say was a steady approach to rehabilitation. Rookie Malaki Starks, the depth safety Baltimore originally drafted to play behind Washington, saw the same smile every day from a guy secure in his position and confident in his direction. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey called it a “testament to hard work. He got back really quick.” Washington’s absence forced the Ravens to further fill out their defensive backfield. They drafted Starks in the first round before Washington’s injury, but quickly thrust the rookie into a starter’s workload. Before Starks turned a corner to the success he’s had of late, the Ravens traded for Chargers safety Alohi Gilman. Related Articles Ravens TE Mark Andrews has only one thing left to prove | COMMENTARY Ravens, TE Mark Andrews agree to 3-year, $39.3 million contract extension Ravens’ Lamar Jackson deals with injury as ‘must-win’ Steelers game looms Ravens’ Tyler Loop stars in replacing Justin Tucker: ‘This kid’s got it’ Ravens’ John Harbaugh explains Derrick Henry’s usage in loss to Bengals “I told AD when I first got here that I respected his game,” Gilman said. “I used to watch a lot of Ravens tape when I was with the Chargers. Saw [Washington] out there rolling around, flying. Not the biggest dude but willing to go down there and put his face in the fan.” In turn, Washington told Gilman about his own NFL journey. The 5-foot-8 safety battled injuries early in his career and toiled around near the end of the bench before stabilizing last year’s secondary. “He’s a true definition of a vet,” Starks said. “He jumps out on tape when you watch him. Just for me, being able to learn from him and grow my relationship with him has been awesome.” Starks sought guidance from the weathered, elder statesman in the safety room. Those two spoke just a few days ago about catching up to the speed of the NFL level and what Starks called “realizing spots.” The conversation was a lesson in diagramming how players move at certain spots around the field. In some respects, Washington has been a sounding board for Starks, who has a pair of interceptions this season. Washington’s return to the practice field brought “explosiveness” and “a different type of energy,” according to Starks. It will inevitably raise depth chart questions. Ravens safety Ar’Darius Washington, left, breaks up a pass intended for the Browns’ Jordan Akins. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) Will Washington contend for snaps over Gilman or Starks? All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton is playing closer to the line of scrimmage, but perhaps Washington moves into a more regular nickel cornerback role? Surely, he’d be called upon if there were an injury. During a defensive team meeting Wednesday afternoon, defensive coordinator Zach Orr showed a string of clips from past Ravens-Steelers matchups. Humphrey said that it got him fired up. The hatred, Humphrey said, is the “closest thing” to a college or high school rivalry. Orr filled the big screen with hard hits and game-defining plays that chronicle their lengthy history. Surely Washington blowing up then-Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson inside the 5-yard line made the cut. One year and major knee surgery later, the undersized lion is awake, back on the field and eager to help point these Ravens toward a playoff push. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article

As Ravens kicker Tyler Loop stepped out of a hotel in downtown Cleveland on a gray, raw and blustery Sunday afternoon last month, he watched helplessly as his backward cap flew off his head and tumbled 20 yards down the street. It was a perfect precursor of the day’s work ahead in the pivotal matchup against the AFC North rival Browns. “Kicking into the Dawg Pound is one of the hardest kicks in all of football,” his long snapper, Nick Moore, told The Baltimore Sun. “The wind is so unpredictable coming off the lake, being cold, the surface of the ground is different. It all plays into executing your kick, and it’s a very hard thing to do there.” Loop, a sixth-round rookie out of Arizona who grew up in suburban Dallas, navigated the treacherous conditions — temperature around 30 degrees, wind swirling a steady 10 mph and gusting as high as 30 — accurately and with aplomb. He made all three field goal attempts, including a 44-yarder into the teeth of the east end zone with just over 5 minutes remaining to pull Baltimore even at 16-16 before an eventual 23-16 victory. “It’s been a super fun ride,” Loop told The Sun. His play this year has also been superb. Amid a season of tumult that has included underwhelming performances and an enumeration of inconsistencies from two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and quarterback Lamar Jackson as well as a middling defense, the 24-year-old with the boyish grin has been Baltimore’s steadiest and most reliable performer. In a dozen games, Loop has connected on 22 of 24 field goal attempts, including on all 19 from inside 50 yards. His conversion rate of 91.7% is tied with the Dallas Cowboys’ Brandon Aubrey for fourth-best in the NFL (minimum 20 attempts) behind only the San Francisco 49ers’ Eddy Pineiro, the New York Jets’ Nick Folk and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Cameron Dicker. He has also done so while taking over for one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, Justin Tucker, who was released this past offseason before being suspended 10 weeks by the NFL for violating its personal conduct policy following a league investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen massage therapists from several Baltimore area spas and wellness centers. That Loop, who became the first kicker the Ravens spent a draft pick on, was able to steer through both was a testament to his confidence. The signs that he could were also there early. Longtime Ravens senior special teams assistant Randy Brown was sold on Loop the night the two had dinner at The Monica, a fast-casual restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, popular with students and where the Lou Groza Award semifinalist who’d made a school-record 62-yarder his senior season rearranged some tables and chairs to demonstrate his process. Over the course of the 2 1/2 hours the two nerded out about kicking and all its technicalities. Afterward, Brown texted coach John Harbaugh that they’d found their guy. “Tyler had outstanding foot-to-ball contact throughout his years at Arizona,” Brown told The Sun recently. “So, when you have really good foot-to-ball contact and a swinging plane that goes towards the goal post, you can kind of translate that into hitting a straight ball in windy conditions.” Other tangibles that Loop would be able to weather the storm — literally and figuratively — stood out as well. Related Articles Ravens’ John Harbaugh explains Derrick Henry’s usage in loss to Bengals Mike Preston: Ravens, Steelers, AFC North lack juice in 2025 | COMMENTARY Ravens’ John Harbaugh on Lamar Jackson: ‘Gonna have an off day sometimes’ 2 injured Ravens defenders have ‘a good chance’ of practicing this week READER POLL: Who will win the AFC North? “When you have somebody that technically knows his craft — it’s never a fail-safe — but you definitely believe that they can carry that technique and that process forward in high-leverage situations,” Brown said. “Kicking in wind and kicking in the north, you’re in those high-leverage situations more often than not, especially kicking for a winning team.” Still, that technique needed tinkering, and a lot of it, Loop and Brown said. For starters, NFL kicking balls are slightly larger in length and circumference than those used in college, so the sweet spot is different. Loop’s foot also met leather lower on the ball than it does now. His routine before a game also needed an overhaul. In college, Loop said, it wasn’t consistent and required little thought. Now, on the Friday before a Sunday game he has the same script of kicks that he will execute during warmups inside the stadium on Sundays. That includes his taking five kicks with no steps, five with one step and five full kicks. Then he’ll try eight field goals in one direction before taking eight in the other, usually maxing out at 60 or sometimes 65 yards depending on the location. “As far as progress made, just confidence and my process in being a professional when it comes to how we prepare game day,” Loop said. “I think I did well in college, but at this level the demand to be at a high level is even more so.” The adaptation hasn’t taken long. “He’s learned a ton,” Moore said. “I think he’s handling it very professionally and doing a really good job of trying to be consistent. In our job, that’s the hardest thing, to go out and be able to replicate the same action every time you step on the field. “He’s honed up on the leans of the ball. He’s getting much better at his ball contact. He’s getting more down the field on his swing. He’s being a lot more aggressive. It’s a very confident stroke that he’s got going on right now. He’s come a long way since he got here.” He also had to quickly prove that he could deliver. In the opening quarter of a Week 1 game against the Bills, the Ravens were down 7-0 when their opening drive had just stalled at Buffalo’s 34-yard line. Harbaugh wasn’t sure whether he wanted to go for it or attempt the 52-yard field goal at a breezy Highmark Stadium. He looked at Moore and the long snapper said, “Let’s kick the damn ball.” “I stuck my neck out there,” Moore cracks. “And he did a great job. He crushed it right down the middle. For him, [52] yards, first kick in a tough environment in Buffalo when there was a 50-50 chance we were even gonna try the field goal, he went out there and executed. That was his welcome to the NFL moment.” Ravens kicker Tyler Loop, right, follows through on a kick in a recent win over the Bears. Loop has been stellar as a rookie, making 91.7% of his field-goal attempts this season. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Not all of them have been so gleaming, though. Early in the fourth quarter and with Baltimore having just scored a touchdown to extend its lead to 40-25, Loop missed the extra point, the ball clanging off the right upright. The Bills went on to win, 41-40. The league’s dynamic kickoff also took some getting used to. Four times in the first three weeks of the season, Loop was flagged for kickoffs coming up short of the landing zone and once for a kickoff that went out of bounds. Since then, he’s had just one kick go out of bounds and none that have landed short of the landing zone. “The dirty-ball kicks, you can’t practice them too much, because you don’t want the swing plane to change and the stroke to change,” Brown said. “We practice it once a week, and we’ll hit a few balls in a direction, depending on where the return of the wind is. It’s all about where you strike the ball, which obviously, you have to strike the ball a little higher to get it to drive more. But, we’re very smart and cognizant about how much we actually practice it, because it cannot change the swing plane for field goals and then the regular kickoffs.” While the Buffalo loss also lingered in the minds of players in the weeks that followed amid a 1-5 start, it did not for Loop. He had already built a well of confidence that took root in the preseason, Moore said. In the Ravens’ second preseason game, Loop connected on 5 of 6 field goal attempts, including two from beyond 50 yards. His lone miss was a 50-yarder in the fourth quarter, but he bounced back on the next possession to drill a 53-yarder. That was all the coach needed to see. After Loop beat out undrafted rookie free agent John Hoyland earlier in training camp, he was officially named the starting kicker that night and the next week in the preseason finale he made a 61-yarder in Washington. “It’s easy to make a mistake and miss a field goal like that and let it affect the rest of your performance in that game,” Moore said of the missed boot in Dallas. “When you kick that, you go sit on the sideline and you don’t know when your next opportunity is gonna be. You get a lot of time to yourself, to think, get your mind and your wheels spinning. It’s hard to balance that with the realization that we’re gonna get another opportunity and I can’t let this get in the way of what I’m gonna do in the future. For him to power drive that next field goal right down the middle, to me that was like, oh this kid’s got it.” Months later, that much has been obvious. “He’s definitely a student of kicking, but he’s just such a steady personality,” Harbaugh said. “He’s such an even[-keeled], good-natured kind of guy. He doesn’t really get rattled. If the kick doesn’t go exactly right, he’s able just to look at it scientifically and say, ‘OK, this is what happened or didn’t happen.’ He doesn’t get in his head too much about it, I think, and that’s probably really important for a kicker.” That will be especially important over the next five weeks. Ravens kicker Tyler Loop celebrates after making a 61-yard field goal during the preseason. Loop has the skills to be a longtime NFL kicker. (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP) At 6-6, the Ravens are tied atop the division with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will play in Baltimore on Sunday. In addition to a home finale against the 11-2 New England Patriots on Dec. 21, the Ravens also have road games in Cincinnati, Green Bay and Pittsburgh remaining, all of which figure to have difficult conditions to kick in. But as much as the rest of the team has struggled to be consistent, there is plenty of evidence and belief that won’t be a problem for Loop. “He’s comfortable in his own skin,” Moore said of Loop, adding that the kicker has relied heavily on his faith as he made the transition to the NFL to replace an embattled player that he long idolized. “Justin was one of one. He was a special player for a long time here. You can’t try to come in and be that guy. “Overall, I don’t think we could’ve asked for a better guy to come into that spot.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

The Ravens played the NFL’s worst defense in the modern era, a group which ranked 31st in run defense, and didn’t give Derrick Henry the opportunity to muscle his team to a win. Leaving the field late Thursday night having watched Baltimore’s offense perish against the Bengals, coach John Harbaugh grabbed a score sheet. He scanned the numbers staring back at him — Henry with 60 yards and a touchdown but only 10 carries — and thought, “OK, how did this exactly happen?” Henry was on the field for 24 of 60 offensive snaps. That’s his second lowest mark of the season, the other being 21 in a Week 4 loss at Kansas City. On Thanksgiving night, Henry turned his third carry into a 28-yard touchdown. He was given the ball on first down each of the next two drives; one ended in a Lamar Jackson fumble and the other a three-and-out backed up near the goal line. Henry did not touch the ball again until after halftime. He played one snap in the second quarter. Collectively, against a defense allowing 5.1 yards per play, the Ravens logged 22 total carries, their fewest attempts in nearly two months. “Those are not the numbers that we want at all,” Harbaugh said. Harbaugh dove into a lecture of something he’s hammered home many times over the years: “We want to run the ball. We’re a running team — that’s a fact. And we are a throwing team, too. We have Lamar Jackson; we have receivers; we have tight ends; we have all that — but we want to always be a team that runs the ball and stops the run. That’s been the case since 2008. It’s not going to really probably ever change.” Offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley similarly voiced his displeasure while holding court in the postgame locker room. “We make sure that’s our identity,” he said, “and we have to make it work.” Stanley said he would’ve liked to see the offense stick by Henry and the ground game. On paper, it’s a bad look to have your future Hall of Fame running back who showed to be the most promising piece of Baltimore’s first-half offense sit for nearly an entire quarter. Henry said postgame, “I’m not one to cry in the media or complain. Whatever I get, try to take advantage of it.” Harbaugh’s argument Monday was there weren’t many more obvious spots to feed the 31-year-old Henry in what they strive to be a high-variance offense. The Ravens ran 13 plays over three second-quarter possessions (omitting a last-second kneel down before halftime). First was a seven-play sequence that ended in an Isaiah Likely fumble inches from the end zone. Keaton Mitchell handled their only run, which he took for a single yard. The second drive was a two-minute offense, implying play caller Todd Monken was mindful of the clock and pushing the pace, having Jackson throw the ball six times before ultimately punting it away. The third, with 30 seconds before halftime, lasted one play: Jackson’s second fumble of the night. “We didn’t have any plays in the second quarter to have a chance to even run the ball,” Harbaugh said. Mitchell finished with two carries for 19 yards and a touchdown, his first score since returning from knee surgery. “I could’ve cried out there,” he smiled after making the most of eight offensive snaps. But with Justice Hill on the injured reserve for a neck injury, it was former fifth-round pick Rasheen Ali who filled in on pass protection and third-down situations. Ali, the team’s fourth-string running back and kick returner, had more offensive snaps (29) than Henry or Mitchell. Harbaugh thought Ali “played really well,” admirably holding up his assignments chip blocking and route running. Ali ran the ball four times for 17 yards. There were plenty of fans watching Ali in the backfield Thursday night wondering why Henry wasn’t out there more. Henry turned five carries into 27 yards in the third quarter then again didn’t get a touch in the fourth. Related Articles Mike Preston: Ravens, Steelers, AFC North lack juice in 2025 | COMMENTARY Ravens’ John Harbaugh on Lamar Jackson: ‘Gonna have an off day sometimes’ 2 injured Ravens defenders have ‘a good chance’ of practicing this week READER POLL: Who will win the AFC North? How Ravens’ Rashod Bateman, Marian House empower women dealing with trauma “There just weren’t enough opportunities,” Harbaugh argued. “It wasn’t like every time we were in first and second down, we were going to run the ball 100% of the time. To get to 18 to 20 runs, we’d have had to run it every time on first and second down, just about.” By the final frame, the Ravens were behind on the scoreboard in need of pushing the pace through the air to give themselves a shot. By the 9:38 mark of the fourth quarter, the Ravens were already in their up-tempo approach. Harbaugh pushed back against ire from box score watchers explaining how Baltimore ran 21 plays — a third of their offense — from Monken’s two-minute offense call sheet in the loss. “That’s way too high,” he said. “I don’t mind two-minute plays at the end of the half, but I’m not really fired up about two-minute plays at the end of the game because that means you’re trying to come back.” Given some room to operate, Henry can be the catalyst in a win. But Baltimore’s offensive line hasn’t made his life any easier. His rushing figures have dipped: He has four 100-yard game compared to six by this point a year ago and his 4.7 yards per attempt are way down from 5.9 in 2024. Still, Harbaugh believes in the power of Baltimore’s run game. “That’s the bottom line,” he said. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. Ravens running back Derrick Henry, shown at practice earlier this season, only had 10 carries in Baltimore's loss to the Bengals. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) View the full article

NFL officials might need to flip a coin at the end of the regular season to decide who represents the AFC North in the postseason. If it’s heads, then the Ravens go. If it’s tails, the Steelers will represent. This division has no juice, as opposed to years ago when it was one of the fiercest in the league. But right now, there is no fire, no electricity. Trash talking is an aberration, certainly not like it was following the three-sack performance by outside linebacker Terrell Suggs against Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the 2011 season opener. “God can have his soul, but his [butt] belongs to me,” Suggs said after the game. Come on, that’s great stuff, and what separated this series from others. Players from both teams despised each other and while Suggs was public enemy No. 1 in Pittsburgh, Steelers receiver Hines Ward was at the top of the charts in Baltimore. But that’s no longer the case. The Ravens and Steelers are at the top of the AFC North with identical 6-6 records and are very quiet, as they should be. There is no fear of playing either team any more. They used to be carbon copies of each other. Each team claimed to have the greatest defense. Pittsburgh had outside linebackers Joey Porter, James Harrison, free safety Ryan Clark and eventual Hall of Fame strong safety Troy Polamalu. The Ravens countered with Suggs and eventual Hall of Famers middle linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed. Both had strong armed quarterbacks in Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger and stellar running backs in Jerome Bettis and Jamal Lewis during their respective heydays. But that’s no longer the case. Pittsburgh’s defense is ranked No. 28, allowing 365.1 yards per game, while the Ravens are rated No. 26 and give up an average of 350.4 yards, including 232 passing. Both teams struggle with their offensive lines, and neither starting quarterback is playing well. Pittsburgh’s Aaron “too old” Rodgers is 41, and Lamar “I can’t find my way right now” Jackson hasn’t played up to his previous levels, which earned him Most Valuable Player awards in 2019 and 2023. The good news for Baltimore fans is that Jackson still might find his way out of the abyss, but Rodgers and the Steelers are going, going, almost gone. Maybe the NFL needs to borrow a script from WWE and extend the trade deadline until next week so the Steelers can add Flacco, the only team he hasn’t played for in the division. Please, give me something. They don’t trade barbs anymore, like former Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe calling receiver Plaxico Burress “Plexiglass” in 2001. There was the bounty the Ravens reportedly put on Ward in 2008, and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin trying to trip Jacoby Jones during the 2013 Thanksgiving Day game along the left sideline in Baltimore during a 73-yard return. I loved that play because it went into the lore of this series. Tomlin denied it after the game, but confirmed he did it on purpose a day later and was fined $100,000. But that’s football and that’s passion. It goes back to the old saying, “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” Related Articles Ravens’ John Harbaugh explains Derrick Henry’s usage in loss to Bengals Ravens’ John Harbaugh on Lamar Jackson: ‘Gonna have an off day sometimes’ 2 injured Ravens defenders have ‘a good chance’ of practicing this week READER POLL: Who will win the AFC North? How Ravens’ Rashod Bateman, Marian House empower women dealing with trauma There was the time Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata broke Roethlisberger’s nose ($15,000 fine) in 2010, and linebacker Jameel McClain had his paycheck reduced by $40,000 for a concussion he gave tight end tight end Heath Miller in the same game. The Steelers have had their own fines with outside linebacker T. J. Watt losing $25,000 in 2023, and Clark paying out $40,000 for a shot delivered in 2011. And then there were the hits, the legitimate ones, like Ravens linebacker Bart Scott delivering the perfect tackle on Roethlisberger for a sack in 2006 where Roethlisberger appeared to be doing a levitation act here in Baltimore, and then outside linebacker Jarret Johnson leveling Ward in 2011 on an attempted screen pass in the middle. That drew a standing ovation. It was clean, nowhere near the vicious cheap shot used by Ward to wipe out Reed in 2007. That hit eventually led to what is unofficially called the “Hines Ward rule” in 2009 where a receiver can no longer blindside a defensive player. Of all the stories, though, my favorite was in 2003 when Porter had been shot in the rear end in Denver after attending a game at his alma mater, Colorado State. Porter apparently thought Lewis mocked him in a preseason game in the second quarter, and took exception to him mocking him with the right leg extended, Porter’s trademark celebration move. The incident led to Porter and Lewis exchanging words on the bus outside in Pittsburgh, and Porter supposedly tried to enlist Burress and Bettis, but they declined because they had to play against Lewis and didn’t want to make him mad. Lloyd Fox, Baltimore SunRavens' linebacker Ray Lewis hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Ravens defeated the 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII. Lewis was one of the top defenders in franchise history, although Baltimore's defensive excellence has been hard to find in 2025. (Staff file) Lewis had that kind of respect, but the physicality of both teams are gone now. Buffalo pushed the Steelers around Sunday in the second half of the Bills’ 26-7 victory. Before the game started, the Bills were down two starting offensive tackles, but they still punished Pittsburgh. The Ravens started the season off 1-5, but then won five straight before losing, 32-14, to Cincinnati, on Thanksgiving night as they committed five turnovers. The Ravens have yet to prove they can beat a quarterback in the same class as a Patrick Mahomes, the Rams Matthew Stafford or Joe Burrow, even Detroit’s Jared Goff. Like Pittsburgh, the Ravens have offensive line problems and the defensive group melted down Thursday in the second half against the Bengals. So, it appears those days of Lewis versus Bettis are gone and so are the games where Reed and Polamalu played against each other, two of the best in modern history. But it just isn’t about the players. Both coaches, the longest tenured in the league, are being pressured to win. There were chants to fire Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh, where he has been the top coach since 2007. In Baltimore, fans have booed coach John Harbaugh for the last two weeks at halftime because of lackluster offensive performances, and the morning talk shows often feature calls asking for his firing after each loss. Harbaugh started with the Ravens in 2008. It’s a new era in football, where fans might care more about the rivalries than the players, but the Pittsburgh versus Baltimore was a good one for many years. The NFL needs more of them. Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article

The Ravens will return to their first full practice since a disastrous Thanksgiving night defeat to the Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday. Whether quarterback Lamar Jackson will be there remains to be seen. Each of the past three weeks, Jackson has missed a day amid a series of injuries and said that the routine could be his new normal. Of course, there’s also the chance he could practice all week following a mini-bye and a few extra days off, especially given how he looked physically the last time he took the field. When coach John Harbaugh was asked on Monday if Jackson’s schedule would include a day off, however, he was noncommittal. “He’s gonna practice as much as he can and prepare as well as he can,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what he’s gonna do. He always has.” What Jackson hasn’t done is be mired in a three-game slump that is in most meaningful ways the worst of his otherwise exceptional and spectacular career. Over the past three contests, Jackson has not thrown a touchdown pass. In his past five, he has completed fewer than 60% of his passes. Both are firsts for the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player. Jackson’s 6.6 yards per attempt this season are also down two yards from 2024, when he led the league, while his quarterback rating of 57.9, per ESPN, ranks 14th and is on pace to be his lowest since 2021. The plunge prompted one Pittsburgh radio host, Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan, to propound that Jackson is “at the very least a little overrated.” The missive — which came during the Bengals’ bullying of Baltimore — was perhaps not surprising with the Steelers next up. Still, it irked Jackson enough that he responded the following day on X, writing, “Sayless,” with a laughing emoji. There hasn’t been any humor since the Ravens’ embarrassing 32-14 loss to the Bengals in which they turned the ball over five times, including three in the first half, their most in the first 30 minutes of a game since 2007. Cincinnati came into the critical AFC North showdown with the worst defense in the NFL, both in total yards and passing yards allowed per game. Yet Jackson completed just 17 of 32 pass attempts for 246 yards, was intercepted once, fumbled twice inside his own 20-yard line and sacked three times. “I do think you’re gonna have an off day sometimes,” Harbaugh said of Jackson’s inaccuracy. “That’s not something you take lightly. Listen, Lamar doesn’t take it lightly more than anybody and no player on this team takes it lightly.” Baltimore was also just 3-for-10 on third down and running back Derrick Henry ran for 60 yards but got a meager 10 carries, the latter Harbaugh explained by 2-minute situations at the end of the first half and late in the game that prevented more running plays from occurring. Inconsistency and inefficiency have afflicted the Ravens’ offense all season, though. Some of it could be explained away by a rash of injuries, which have included Jackson missing three games because of a Week 4 hamstring injury. That was also followed by knee, ankle and toe issues. Then there’s the offensive line. Guards Andrew Vorhees and Daniel Faalele have been below average and against the Bengals that led to a rotation, with third-round rookie Emery Jones Jr. stepping in for Vorhees. Related Articles 2 injured Ravens defenders have ‘a good chance’ of practicing this week READER POLL: Who will win the AFC North? How Ravens’ Rashod Bateman, Marian House empower women dealing with trauma What’s wrong with Ravens QB Lamar Jackson? There isn’t one answer. Ravens tight end Mark Andrews engaged to girlfriend Elena Yates Pre-snap adjustments and getting into the correct play against the right defense have also played a part, Harbaugh said. “I think we do at times,” he said Monday when asked if they have been getting into the right play. “At times we don’t. “What we wanna do is chase being on the same page, being together, being connected. We wanna chase that in everything we do, communication-wise and efficiency. And then the defense throws a lot of stuff at you, you’ve gotta adjust to movement, you’ve gotta adjust to disguises. … We didn’t do a good job of that Thursday night so no I’m not happy about it.” Harbaugh also said the Ravens can’t “live” in the past and they have to “move on and come out swinging the next time.” That will be imperative this week. Both Baltimore and Pittsburgh are 6-6 atop the division and will meet Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. Jackson, who was at a loss for words last week when asked why his accuracy hasn’t been to the level that he expects, will need to be better than he was the last time he took the field. How can he be? “You go back to work, and you get in there and you practice and you study it, and you work together to be as precise as you can,” Harbaugh said. “It was not a precise offensive performance in any way. There was nothing precise about it. It was imprecise in every way, and we all know that.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson reacts after he watched a replay of one of his turnovers in Thursday's loss to the Bengals. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) View the full article

Ravens outside linebacker Tavius Robinson and safety Ar’Darius Washington could each return to practice from injury as soon as this week. During his Monday news conference, coach John Harbaugh passively said there was “a chance” for those two to practice this week, then corrected himself to, “there’s a good chance, actually.” Both would provide a defensive spark in the home stretch of this season, with the Ravens (6-6) teetering between an AFC North title push and altogether missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021. A Sunday afternoon matchup hosting the Steelers, who are also 6-6, is sure to have major implications. Robinson was a regular starter in Baltimore’s pass rush before breaking his foot in a Week 6 loss to the Rams. That means he was on the shelf for the entirety of the Ravens’ mid-season turnaround. Robinson’s two sacks were tied for the team lead at the time of his injury. In six games, he forced one fumble, registered one pass deflection and four quarterback hits. About two weeks ago, Harbaugh said that Robinson was tracking toward a timely return. The third-year “glass eater,” as pass rush coach Chuck Smith once affectionately called him, hasn’t suffered any major setbacks in his recovery. While Robinson might return to practice this week, there is no definitive timeline of when he may be available for game action. Washington is in a similar situation, potentially able to return to team-wide practices from an offseason Achilles tendon tear as soon as this week. He was seen on the practice field going through individual workouts with team trainers in mid-November. The preseason timeline seems to have panned out as expected. Washington told his coach he’d be back on the field by November, while Harbaugh projected a November or December return date. Washington, an undrafted rookie in 2021, was one of the best storylines in a 2024 turnaround. He plugged into a regular starting role by the midseason bye week, forced a goal-line fumble against Pittsburgh last December and helped shore up the back end of what was previously a sieve cosplaying as an NFL secondary. Baltimore’s defense again required a facelift from a new starting safety. This time, it was former Charger Alohi Gilman, who has been the reliable center fielder in recent weeks. Washington’s return could force a competition for playing time or allow defensive coordinator Zach Orr to get creative in how he shuffles his secondary. Harbaugh also said that running back Justice Hill’s neck injury would sideline him for about a month. It will not end his season. Hill was put on injured reserve before the Ravens’ Thanksgiving loss. Linebacker and special teamer Chandler Martin will undergo ACL surgery this week for an injury suffered on the opening kickoff against the Bengals. Harbaugh said Martin, who was called up from the practice squad for Thursday’s game, won’t be available until training camp next summer. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. Related Articles READER POLL: Who will win the AFC North? How Ravens’ Rashod Bateman, Marian House empower women dealing with trauma What’s wrong with Ravens QB Lamar Jackson? There isn’t one answer. Ravens tight end Mark Andrews engaged to girlfriend Elena Yates Watch Episode 14 of the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and Jerry Coleman presented by Rice Law View the full article

Somebody has to win it. The AFC North has traditionally been one of the NFL’s best divisions, but not this year. The Ravens (6-6) and Steelers (6-6) are tied for the division lead with five games left in the regular season. Baltimore and Pittsburgh meet on Sunday for the first time this season and will square off again in Week 18. The Bengals (4-8) are a long shot to win the division but have Joe Burrow back under center and just crushed the Ravens on Thanksgiving. The Browns are 3-9 and all but out of it. Who will win the AFC North this season? We want to hear from you. After you vote, leave a comment and we might use your take in The Baltimore Sun. The Baltimore Sun reader poll is an unscientific survey in which website users volunteer their opinions on the subject of the poll. To read the results of previous reader polls, click here. View the full article

Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman tried to blend in among the 40 or so dinner guests. The recent November evening was filled with conversation, laughter and, importantly, affirmation. He also stood out. Not for his celebrity as an NFL player, but as the only male in the banquet room at Marian House, a nonprofit organization in northeast Baltimore that provides support for women who have experienced trauma ranging from domestic violence to incarceration to substance abuse to homelessness. “I want y’all to know today came from a genuine place in my heart,” Bateman said as he raised a microphone on a makeshift blue stage against a taupe wall in front of the group. “I was raised by a bunch of women, so it felt good to give you all ya’ll flowers.” They appreciated it. They could also relate. Bateman spoke about the underprivileged community he grew up in and his mother, Shonda Cromer, who endured more than a decade of domestic abuse during his childhood. He also said that he wished that she’d had someone to help navigate those frightening times. So, through the former first-round draft pick’s Without You Foundation, the idea for a day of healing and wellness for the women of Marian House was sparked. The festivities included luxurious spa treatments through Diva By Cindy and a family-style dinner from trendy Yebo Kitchen. But the message and bonds with Bateman and Cromer are what will have a lasting imprint on the soul, some of the women who spoke with The Baltimore Sun said. “It had a huge impact to see Miss Shonda, who comes from a place of brokenness like we do,” said Belle, a woman in her 50s who said she arrived at Marian House from an alcohol rehab program and psychiatric unit six years ago because her life was “out of control” after being surrounded by a family of alcoholics. Her last name was withheld to protect her identity. “To see her want to share love and spread love to make us feel special, to make us know that we are special and that we’re on a journey here, that we’re gonna be OK, it was just really nice because it was from a place of pure genuineness. “Seeing her bond with her son and how he supports her and she supports him, it was like having your own family there. You wouldn’t have known he is an NFL star.” Of course, he wasn’t always. Bateman was raised in Tifton, Georgia, a small, agricultural town three hours south of Atlanta with a population of about 16,000 and where the poverty rate during his formative years was over 40%. The physical abuse Cromer endured at the hands of Bateman’s often drunken and angry stepfather started in her youngest child’s earliest days. While his older brothers, Monjharvis and Travian, would try to escape by getting lost in video games or watching television, Rashod was witness to much of the violence, Cromer said. Still, she told only one close friend of the abuse and not even her mother for years. But when Cromer told her husband that their kids were going to be taken away by child protective services, that finally led to a split. She also filed for an order of protection against him, though she says that she lived in fear of him for years. Related Articles READER POLL: Who will win the AFC North? What’s wrong with Ravens QB Lamar Jackson? There isn’t one answer. Ravens tight end Mark Andrews engaged to girlfriend Elena Yates Watch Episode 14 of the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and Jerry Coleman presented by Rice Law Joe Flacco and Ravens fans reflect on a potential final trip to Baltimore “It still lingered for a while,” Cromer said. “I stayed scared for a while. I stayed scared until maybe five years ago and we’ve been separated 15 years. I stayed scared for a long time.” She also eventually got through it. For safety, Cromer moved in with her own mom, who, along with Cromer’s sister, among others, helped watch her children as she went back to school to get her bachelor’s degree and eventually a master’s in education and business. She leaned on her family and her faith, she said, to find the strength to forge ahead. “There’s so many women who keep quiet about some of the things that they go through like I did, because I actually kept quiet about it for a long time before somebody even knew,” Cromer said. “We didn’t have that here for somebody to reach out or help me. I had to try to figure out how to get away and do everything on my own. That’s why I tell them doing everything on my own taught me the fight is not over. You still gotta keep fighting. Even though you’re free now, you got to keep fighting to do better, you got to keep fighting not to go back, you still got to keep fighting to get a better education if you don’t have one or to get a better job. The fight’s not over until you get what you need.” She did, and so did the most athletically gifted of her children. Despite a lack of scholarship offers from major college football programs, Bateman went on to become a standout at the University of Minnesota, where he was a first-team All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore in 2019 before turning pro in 2021 and being selected 27th overall by the Ravens. A few months after being drafted, he bought his mother a house in their hometown. He has since gone on to sign two contract extensions with Baltimore, including a three-year, $36.75 million deal this past June after a breakout 2024 season in which he had career highs in yards (756) and touchdowns (nine). To the women he spent the evening with at Marian House, though, he was just Rashod. “It felt like he wasn’t a stranger,” said Annette, a woman in her 60s whose last name was also withheld to protect her identity. “I was real comfortable with him and cracking jokes with him. I asked why his brothers didn’t play football and where he was from and told him why we were there. He wasn’t really surprised. He knew what we went through and he would always say, you ladies are where my mom came from.” More importantly, though, is where they are going. Hope has been injected into the lives of the women. Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman and his Without You Foundation hosted a wellness day for women who have experienced trauma at the Diva Day Spa in Upperco on Nov. 10. (Surya Vaidy/Staff) Ivy, a woman in her 40s whose last name was withheld to also protect her identity, said thanks to Marian House, she was able to escape an abusive relationship along with heavy drinking. She has been sober for nearly two years and is on her way to becoming a nurse. She can see a bright future. “It’s been beautiful to me,” she said, fighting back tears. “I’m really proud of myself. They got me in the right direction. They seen things in me I didn’t see in myself. I’m a true testimonial to what the Marian House can do. “I needed a change. I’m just grateful right now.” Optimistic, too. That’s as important as anything, said Marian House president and chief executive Katie Allison. “It’s always good to know that someone came out the other side and is living a healthy and blessed life, and that’s something they can achieve as well,” she said. “Just the fact that they’re at Marian House, they’re not living with [an abuser] and they can see a path forward.” That’s particularly important around the holidays, when many of the women are not able to be around family and have to work hard to lean into the “sisterhood” they’ve developed with each other and celebrate safely and soberly, according to Marian House chief advancement officer Tobi Morris. They admittedly were at least a little starstruck, too, but grateful for the kind of care many of them say they never had before. “The ladies are still talking about [the event],” Morris said. “They all needed that extra care. They were overwhelmed. A stranger and a celebrity cared enough about their lives and their position, and they understood where they were and were interested in feeding their soul and spirit. “The truth is so many women in Baltimore and America have experienced domestic partner violence in their lives. They see she survived it, so I’m gonna survive it. I think it was mutually beneficial for both.” Rashod Bateman's Without You Foundation partnered with the Marian House, an organization that provides support for women who have experienced trauma. (Surya Vaidy/Staff) While a 2022 study published in “JAMA Network Open,” a monthly peer-reviewed open-access medical journal published by the American Medical Association and conducted by investigators at Harvard, found that former NFL players experienced childhood adversity rates similar to those of the general population, the numbers are still staggeringly high. The study of 1,755 former players found that 64.5% reported at least one adverse childhood experience, with the most common being physical abuse (24.2%), household mental illness (21.9%) and parental separation (21.2%). Bateman’s experiences had such a profound impact that his mother said she believes he only recently was able to get over it. “It was tough,” he said. “There was hitting. Other stuff comes to mind, too, but as I continue to do this, I’ll be able to open up more because I do want people to know what exactly I been through so they can understand. “But it showed me what type of love I want for myself. I think I learned what I did want and did not want.” What he wants now, even amid the touchdowns and TV cameras and millions of dollars, is to help the women of Marian House, and others, feel good about themselves. It’s an interesting dichotomy, he added, the toughness to be a football player juxtaposed against the gentleness to lift a room full of women up emotionally and spiritually. For all the physical hurt that goes with the sport he plays, though, it is his mother who endured and each has a desire to pay that forward so that others don’t have to go through what they did. “It’s easy for me to be myself and wear my heart on my sleeve because it’s something that I’ve always done,” Bateman said. “I haven’t been afraid to show my emotions and I guess be un-manly as people would call it. Being around females and raised by women, it’s OK. I wish more men were like that as well. There’s such a stigma around certain stuff in this world that people have to choose whatever makes them feel safe and is better for them at the time. “I just wanna be an advocate for all people; men, women, to be whatever you wanna be. At the end of the day, somebody is gonna say something about you, good or bad, so spread love the best way you can. The only way you can do that is be true to yourself.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. A woman receives a massage during a day of relaxation and restoration at the Diva Day Spa on Nov. 10. (Surya Vaidy/Staff) View the full article

Area 51, the Voynich manuscript and Lamar Jackson circa 2025. Unexplained mysteries all, though the latter has been particularly perplexing. After the Ravens quarterback spoke with reporters following a 32-14 debacle at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night, he quietly retreated to his stall in the back corner of the locker room inside M&T Bank Stadium, sat for a moment and seemed to stare through the floor before quickly getting dressed and being joined by his 2018 draft classmate and longtime security blanket tight end Mark Andrews for a brief conversation and slap of hands between the two. To be a fly on the adjacent wall would’ve shed light on what was said but not likely answered the NFL’s most pressing question at the moment: What’s wrong with Lamar Jackson? “Lamar is great,” Andrews said. “I have no complaints. He’s our guy, and I have full trust in him. Football is a way of life. “Sometimes bad things happen.” Usually not for Jackson, a transcendent and generational virtuoso who will almost certainly one day be fitted for a gold jacket and be honored with a bronze bust in Canton, Ohio. Two seasons ago, he led the Ravens to the NFL’s best record, the brink of his first Super Bowl (and what would’ve been the organization’s first in a dozen years) and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player for a second time. Last season, he had career highs in passing yards and touchdown passes while piloting an offense that was historic as the first to top 4,000 yards through the air and 3,000 on the ground in the same season as the MVP runner-up. Yet there he was on a chilly Thanksgiving night, having not completed at least 60% of his passes nor produced a touchdown pass for a third straight game for the first time in his otherwise illustrious career. That it came against the league’s worst defense both in yards and points allowed only exacerbates the malaise. Over Jackson’s past three games, he has accounted for zero touchdowns, three interceptions, two fumbles lost and been sacked eight times. “I don’t know,” he said when asked why the offense has been struggling so mightily. “Can’t call it.” Perhaps not, but Jackson, who at his best is a dazzling blur, looks broken. Why is the great unknown, of course, though like any complex issue, the reasons are myriad. The offensive line Baltimore’s porous front has been at the nexus of much of the discourse surrounding the various struggles for the offense, and the criticism is certainly not without merit. Taking only the latest exhibit, the Bengals generated a 39.5% pressure rate on Jackson, according to Next Gen Stats, in what was their second-best performance of the season. They also did so without injured All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson. Related Articles READER POLL: Who will win the AFC North? How Ravens’ Rashod Bateman, Marian House empower women dealing with trauma Ravens tight end Mark Andrews engaged to girlfriend Elena Yates Watch Episode 14 of the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and Jerry Coleman presented by Rice Law Joe Flacco and Ravens fans reflect on a potential final trip to Baltimore Joseph Ossai led the team with six pressures (his second-most in a game this year) and two sacks, while Myles Murphy added five to match his season high. Cincinnati also held Baltimore to a 38.6% success rate and minus-23.9 expected points added (EPA) on the night, both of which were season bests for the visitors. One area in particular the Ravens struggled with was the Bengals’ Cover 0 looks (meaning no deep safety in coverage). “You’d like to be able to make them pay for it, get the ball in somebody’s hands quickly or pick it up and extend the play if you can,” coach John Harbaugh said. “All those things are what you try to do. We did not do a good job of that tonight.” Sometimes it has been the line, sometimes it has been the quarterback. Injuries Jackson has long been reticent to discuss injuries — perhaps not wishing to speak any into existence — and likewise to not impute them for his inconsistencies. That was the case again Thursday night. “No, I just have to be more consistent,” he said when asked if they affected his performance. “I have to make those throws. I don’t miss them in practice, so I shouldn’t be missing them in the game.” Similarly, when Harbaugh was asked if Jackson is indeed fully healthy, he said, “Fully healthy? Yes, Lamar is fully healthy to play. Yes, absolutely.” That hasn’t always been the case this season, though. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has battled myriad injuries this season amid inconsistent play. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) A hamstring injury suffered in the third quarter of a Week 4 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs knocked him out of that contest and kept him sidelined for the next three (two of which were losses). Since returning in Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins, he has also been listed with knee, ankle and toe injuries in subsequent weeks. As prolific a passer as Jackson has been, his dynamic ability as a runner is what has made him perhaps the best dual-threat quarterback in history, but he is not running as much or as effectively this season. In the first four games, he rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Over his past five, he has 98 yards on 31 rushes. Jackson has yet to register a single run of at least 20 yards, and his 13 carries for at least 10 yards is well down from his pace of last season when he had 37. His 5.1 yards per carry are also the fewest since his rookie year. Then there’s the matter of whether an individual one or an accumulation of the many is impacting his ability to throw accurately. Jackson has always had moments of laissez-faire in some of his simpler throws throughout his career, much the way perhaps Monet would if presented with a finger painting kit, but the inaccuracies have started to creep to an inexplicable, if not unacceptable level. For his part, he says they are not mechanical. “No, I’ve been throwing like that all this time,” he said. “I just have to be consistent.” Vision One of the more baffling plays from the Bengals loss was Jackson’s fumble inside his own 20 with about 30 seconds left in the first half when he lost the ball on an aborted pass attempt as he pulled the ball down. The turnover led to another field goal for Cincinnati. More worrisome, though, was what Jackson didn’t do — hit an open Zay Flowers on a post route. Jackson explained the decision to bail by saying he wanted to make sure it wasn’t a Tampa 2 coverage — when the middle linebacker would drop to the deep middle of the field — compared with a traditional Cover 2, when the safeties would be responsible for the deep halves of the field. Then there was the third-and-8 from just short of midfield midway through the fourth quarter when Cincinnati brought one of its many Cover 0 blitzes and Jackson threw incomplete to a covered Flowers over the middle. Both Andrews and DeAndre Hopkins were uncovered underneath, and Andrews, who had about 15 yards of green space in front of him, threw his hands up in disgust. Is Jackson seeing the field the way he expects and wants to? “Yes, I feel like I’m seeing the field pretty good, for the most part, but I just have to be consistent,” he said. Scar tissue Among the consistent things — aside from Jackson’s inconsistency this year — are a lack of discipline and degree of carelessness that have permeated the roster from the quarterback down, especially in big moments. In the fourth quarter of the 2023 AFC title game loss to the Chiefs, Jackson threw an interception at the Kansas City 5 that ended any chance of a comeback from the 17-7 deficit. Earlier that same quarter, Flowers also had a costly fumble at the goal line. Then, in last year’s two-point divisional round loss to the Buffalo Bills, Jackson had an interception and a fumble. Andrews also had a fumble and infamously dropped a 2-point conversion pass in the final 93 seconds that proved to be the difference. The stakes weren’t as high against the Bengals, but that also makes it all the more concerning. The Ravens’ woes used to reside in the postseason. Now that they’ve crept into the regular season, making the playoffs will be that much more difficult, especially if Jackson isn’t close to his best, whatever the reason. Still, the Ravens have plenty of belief — in each other and especially in their quarterback. “We learn to rebound, grow, learn, and not long ago we were 1-5. We’re 6-6. We’re going to be all right,” Andrews said. “We just have to keep fighting, keep clawing, keep being humble, being thankful, and I’m certainly thankful for him.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article

Ravens tight end Mark Andrews proposed to girlfriend, Elena Yates, a Friday night Instagram post revealed. The post, captioned simply “I love you forever,” shows Andrews getting down on one knee and popping the question. Andrews and Yates have been dating since 2023, according to People. On Nov. 16, Andrews passed Derrick Mason for the most receiving yards in Ravens franchise history during a 23-16 win in Cleveland. He set the mark with an 11-yard catch on the Ravens’ opening drive, pushing his career total to 5,785 yards. Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at rbazos@baltsun.com, 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks. View the full article

Episode 14 of the BMore Football Podcast with The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston and Jerry Coleman presented by Rice Law is here. Preston and Coleman discuss the Ravens’ 32-14 loss to Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving night, which included five turnovers by Baltimore in an ugly defeat. You can watch it weekly, posting every Tuesday during the NFL season on YouTube and The Baltimore Sun, and listen on Spotify, Apple, Amazon and iHeart. Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston@baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun. View the full article

Easton Tucker grew up around Joe Flacco. The 18-year-old watched the quarterback as he first grasped the sport, with a Super Bowl victory in 2013. He didn’t even understand the magnitude of the win at the time. His mother, Beth, certainly did, and still does. While Easton is now drawn by the allure of two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson, Beth remembers the signal caller who offered the Ravens a decade of stability. “He’s the original ‘Joe Cool,’” Beth, 46, said. “He never lost his composure, ever, no matter what.” Thursday’s Thanksgiving game in Baltimore might have been the last time Flacco suited up at M&T Bank Stadium. The 40-year-old Bengals backup said that retirement rarely crosses his mind and figures that he won’t realize what is his final game there until long after it’s over. Still, returning to the place he called home for 11 seasons hits just the same. “It’s always great to be back to this place,” Flacco said after the Ravens’ 32-14 loss to Cincinnati. “It’s my favorite place to play in the league. It always has been.” Flacco said Thursday’s game felt extra special because it was a night kickoff and the crowd was fully engaged. When the jumbotron showed flashbacks, the quarterback found himself reliving the moments that have defined his career at M&T Bank Stadium: the heated rivalry games against Pittsburgh, the 31-30 thriller over New England in 2012 and the 2011 Thanksgiving win against the 49ers. “Whenever you see those pictures of those guys, a memory instantly pops up,” Flacco said. Baltimore fans remember many of those moments — both good and bad. Easton Tucker remembers that Super Bowl win against the 49ers, but also when Flacco suffered a concussion on a late hit from Kiko Alonso in 2017. Jesse Balasus, 28, pointed out Flacco’s 43-yard catch during his rookie season as a defining moment. And of course, there were the playoff runs. The quarterback led Baltimore to the playoffs six times in a seven-year span — generating a 10-5 record and a win in Super Bowl XLVII. It’s the reason many became Ravens fans, including Tony Pospischil — a Ravens fan from Germany. Related Articles Ravens, Todd Monken waste Derrick Henry in Thanksgiving loss | COMMENTARY 5 things we learned from the Ravens’ 32-14 loss to the Bengals Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson can’t explain why offense is struggling Pundits react to Ravens’ surprising 32-14 home loss to Bengals: ‘Sloppy’ The Baltimore Sun’s Ravens report card: Grades for 32-14 loss to Bengals “He’s like a gentleman, an old school quarterback,” said Pospischil, 36. “That’s what I first think of him.” Flacco leaves behind an interesting legacy. The quarterback was on an all-time heater in the 2012 playoffs — throwing 11 touchdowns with no interceptions en route to the title. There was the double-overtime “Mile High Miracle” against Denver in the divisional round, in which a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones tied the game with 31 seconds remaining in regulation. Flacco then achieved the nearly impossible: winning a playoff game against Tom Brady and the Patriots in Foxborough. The 2008 first-round draft pick also carried mid-Atlantic roots. He grew up in New Jersey and played at Pittsburgh and Delaware before landing in Baltimore. “He’s Baltimore as much as Lamar Jackson is Baltimore,” Balasus said. “He was the golden years of the 2010s growing up watching him as quarterback.” Compared with his peers, though, Flacco never stood at the top. His 48,085 passing yards rank 14th all-time — behind Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton and Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan and others from his generation. He sits 21st in career passing touchdowns and 12th in completions. A very good quarterback, just not elite. He also helped usher in the Ravens’ next era. His 2018 benching for Jackson ended a three-game losing streak and sparked a turnaround from 4-5 to 10-6 and a division title. Flacco was traded to Denver after the season and played only one of the three years on his contract with the Broncos. Jackson, meanwhile, won the first of his two MVP awards in his first season as the full-time starter in 2018. Jackson is 75-28 as the Ravens’ starter. “Lamar is the savior,” Easton Tucker said. “You have to respect that.” Flacco has evolved into a journeyman cult hero in recent years, making stops in New York, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Cleveland again and now Cincinnati after a trade. He pushed the Browns into the playoffs in 2023, going 4-1 over the final five weeks after Deshaun Watson’s season-ending injury. That run earned coach Kevin Stefanski’s trust and the Week 1 starting job this season. And when Joe Burrow went down, divisional rival Cincinnati trusted him enough to trade for him. Flacco has talked this season about the challenges of living in Cincinnati while his wife and five children remain in New Jersey. He’s also said he’s learned to make peace with, and even enjoy, the pockets of loneliness that come with the distance. “’I’m just trying to enjoy being in the moment,” Flacco said. “I’ll keep attacking my craft the best I can and become the best I can and see what the interest is, and engage it from there.” There’s no set timeline for his retirement. But whenever it does happen, he wants to leave the game as a Raven. “Of course,” Flacco said in response to retiring a Raven. “I have so many great memories.” Have a news tip? Contact Michael Howes at mhowes@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/Mikephowes. View the full article

Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day of comfort, filled with tradition, familiar flavors and second (maybe even third) helpings of what always works. But on Thursday evening at M&T Bank Stadium, the Ravens sat down at their own dinner table, found the one dish everyone loves, and inexplicably stopped serving the goods in front of a national audience. Derrick Henry’s 28-yard touchdown rush on just his third carry of the game jump-started the Ravens to a 7-3 lead over the Bengals. It marked not only much-needed confidence for a struggling unit, but also the team’s first opening-drive touchdown since Sept. 28. Henry looked every bit powerful and explosive as his oft-criticized offensive line paved a hole for him to scamper through and turn on the jets. And then the Ravens — and coordinator Todd Monken — stopped using their star player who had just proven he was the most effective playmaker on the field. Over the following 21 minutes, 33 seconds, Henry received just two more carries. By halftime, he had been shelved in an offense that seemed determined to throw despite Lamar Jackson’s continued struggles. Why stop serving the goods, Mr. Monken? It was an especially puzzling approach against a Cincinnati defense that entered the Week 13 matchup ranked last in the NFL in yards allowed and 31st in run defense. If there was ever a get-right spot for the Ravens’ offense, this was it. If you were confused by Henry’s usage while eating Thanksgiving leftovers from the living room couch, you weren’t the only one. “I thought the run game, especially early on, got Derrick going,” veteran offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “I think we’ve got to just keep the momentum going and make sure that’s our identity and make it work.” Baltimore wasn’t forced to veer away from the run game because of the game script, either. While the Ravens committed a season-high five turnovers, they never trailed by two possessions until the third quarter. Henry finished with 60 rushing yards across just 10 carries. His 10 rushes were his second fewest this season (he had eight against Kansas City in Week 4). Before this season, Henry hadn’t finished a game with 10 or less carries since Nov. 19, 2023 as a member of the Tennessee Titans. “Naturally, I want take advantage of the opportunities I get,” Henry said. “I’m not one to cry in the media or complain. Whatever I get, try to take advantage of it. … We have to be better. We were not the team we needed to be today to win.” Said Stanley: “Not enough production. We weren’t finishing drives. Too many mistakes. A lot of the things we’ve been battling.” Related Articles 5 things we learned from the Ravens’ 32-14 loss to the Bengals Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson can’t explain why offense is struggling Pundits react to Ravens’ surprising 32-14 home loss to Bengals: ‘Sloppy’ The Baltimore Sun’s Ravens report card: Grades for 32-14 loss to Bengals Bengals celebrate win vs. Ravens with crab and turkey in chaotic postgame show Meanwhile, Jackson’s slump continued. His 65.4 passer rating reflected another uncharacteristic night of multiple misfires and mistakes. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player struggled versus the blitz again, too, completing just three of eight passes against five-man pressures, according to TruMedia. Jackson closes November with five turnovers and just one passing touchdown with zero rushing touchdowns. The 28-year-old quarterback’s recent struggles and health issues place even more emphasis on Monken’s questionable play calling. Monken’s decision to abandon the run game was reminiscent of the team’s loss to the Chiefs in the AFC championship in January 2024, when tailbacks Justice Hill and Gus Edward combined for just six carries. While the stakes weren’t as high in the Thanksgiving loss to the Bengals that ended the team’s five-game winning streak, the effect and total level of frustration felt eerily similar. Asked if he was pleased how frequently the Ravens ran the ball against the Bengals, coach John Harbaugh replied: “You try to do what you can do to win the game. If they’re going to put a bunch of people up there — we had a lot of open guys, and you saw opportunities to score. I think we had two of them called back that were the result of throwing the ball against the looks they were giving us. So, it’s a matter of finishing those plays and putting them in the end zone.” Fair enough. But like everyone else watching, Monken should’ve noticed that Jackson wasn’t on point, a familiar tune to his performances in recent weeks. Ravens running back Derrick Henry scores on a 22-yard run in the first quarter. Henry only received 10 carries in Baltimore's 32-14 loss to the Bengals. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Why not aid his struggling superstar quarterback with more touches for his not-so struggling superstar running back, especially after Henry erased a two-month long bugaboo with his opening drive score? It’s not like Henry’s slowing down, either. Since Jackson returned to the starting lineup in Week 9, Henry had averaged 90.3 yards per game. Baltimore’s change-of-pace tailback, Keaton Mitchell, scored the team’s other touchdown, but only had two carries for 19 yards. Between Henry and Mitchell, the Ravens rushed just 12 times against one of the league’s worst run defenses. Sometimes, you’ve just got to keep on serving the goods. “It’s very frustrating,” Stanley said. “I’ve been around football a bit, played a while, and just understanding the type of personnel we have, that’s just not our standard.” Moving forward, all focus remains on winning the AFC North title. The Ravens have three division contests remaining over their final five regular-season games, including next Sunday’s home matchup against the Steelers. How much will that automatic playoff berth truly matter, though, if the offense can’t stop getting in its own way? On Thanksgiving night, with Baltimore-Cincinnati featured as the NFL’s grand finale, the Ravens had the proper ingredients for a straightforward win, but Monken left Henry cooling far too long on the table. Have a news tip? Contact Josh Tolentino at jtolentino@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200, x.com/JCTSports and instagram.com/JCTSports. View the full article

Five turnovers sent the Ravens spiraling toward a 32-14 Thanksgiving loss to the Bengals. Now 6-6 entering the home stretch of a playoff push, they’ve left themselves little room for error. Here are five things we learned from the game: Lamar Jackson’s ‘off nights’ are piling up The problem? He says he’s merely not consistent enough. The solution? “Just be me; be Lamar [Jackson]. That’s all.” It seems Lamar Jackson hasn’t been Lamar Jackson in weeks. Thursday night, the two-time Most Valuable Player and turnover-averse quarterback coughed up the ball three times. He fumbled twice and was intercepted once on a batted pass. Jackson is riding a four-game run failing to complete 60% of his passes. That’s the longest streak since his rookie year in 2018. The obvious explanation would be his health. Jackson missed three games for a hamstring injury earlier this year, then three separate lower-body ailments shortened his practice schedule in consecutive weeks. But coach John Harbaugh and Jackson both swatted yet another round of health-related inquiries, insisting he’s OK. “I don’t miss [those throws] in practice,” Jackson argued, “so I shouldn’t be missing them in the game. … I’m ticked off. It’s not even frustrating, I’m just mad.” Countless throws appeared off time and fell to the turf off target. One over someone’s head, another out of reach. Jackson finished 17 of 32 for 246 yards. For a third straight game, he failed to throw a touchdown, the longest drought since he became Baltimore’s starter. He’s the centerpiece of an offense that isn’t working. One of the NFL’s most masterful quarterbacks, who we have come to expect the most ridiculous of performances from, looks awfully human. “Even LeBron [James] has an off night,” safety Kyle Hamilton said. Mishaps weren’t always solely falling on Jackson’s shoulders. He found Isaiah Likely on an extended play that ended in a fumble at the goal line. There was a long ball to Zay Flowers called back for offensive pass interference. But the body of work, Thursday and as of late, hasn’t been up to his standard. This recent stretch has piled into more than one off night. It’s become a troubling trend, leaving Baltimore’s offense bereft of forward progress. Even Jackson, himself, couldn’t quite put a finger on. “I don’t know, I can’t call it,” he said. “I really can’t. I don’t want to make anything up. I felt like we were doing things pretty well on the field. We got first downs, we drove the ball down the field sometimes, and then a turnover would happen — a mishap — here and there. We just have to be on the same page [and] be consistent. Like I just said, that’s the biggest key right now; being consistent throughout the game, [from the] first quarter to fourth quarter, and not putting our defense on the field as much as we did.” Even a terrible defense couldn’t save this sinking offense Thursday night: a prime opportunity wasted, a full Thanksgiving plate served on a glistening titanium platter flipped on its head. Cincinnati owns, statistically, the worst defense of the last half-century. NFL statistician Aaron Schatz rounded up data from the first 12 weeks of every season going back to 1978 and determined no team had a worse defense-adjusted value over average (DVOA). Last week’s Jets were a porous defense, too. The Dolphins were worse. The Vikings were meh, barely better than the Bears of a month ago. Baltimore beat them all. Related Articles Ravens, Todd Monken waste Derrick Henry in Thanksgiving loss | COMMENTARY Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson can’t explain why offense is struggling Pundits react to Ravens’ surprising 32-14 home loss to Bengals: ‘Sloppy’ The Baltimore Sun’s Ravens report card: Grades for 32-14 loss to Bengals Bengals celebrate win vs. Ravens with crab and turkey in chaotic postgame show But Cincinnati? A team who let opponents score on half their drives (49.6%, highest in the NFL) and a league-most 415.8 yards per game while missing All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson? What a blessing for this Ravens offense, littered with talent struggling to keep its fanbase from forgetting that fact. Cincinnati offered an opportunity to figure out why that might be and get right. The Ravens squandered such opportunity, instead amplifying their ills against a defense they should have mowed down. Not only did Jackson turn the ball over thrice, but Likely and Flowers added insult to injury. As Harbaugh put it, “You can’t do that if you want to win football games.” The Ravens haven’t turned the ball over five times in a single game since 2013. It was among the worst collective offensive showings in recent Ravens memory. After Jackson misfired on a fourth-down throw to Flowers in the fourth quarter, the team’s top receiver trudged off the field and cast aside his helmet. He ripped his gloves off. For a moment there, Flowers looked inconsolable. He paced behind the bench to cool off. Then he went back in on the next possession and fumbled the ball away. “We have to figure it out,” he said, matter of factly. Clock’s ticking. Ravens couldn’t stop the first playoff-caliber quarterback they’ve seen in weeks Joe Burrow rolled into M&T Bank Stadium wrapped in a furry white Alo coat, tuning out the world with wired headphones and a facial expression like he was solely interested in ruining Thanksgiving. Not by stirring political debate or with a dig about how the food stinks, but with his cannon of an arm and barely healed big toe. Thursday night was Burrow’s first game back since a turf toe injury set him out in Week 2. “Everybody’s making it seem like it’s this big ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ return,” Bengals running back Chase Brown told reporters earlier this week. “It could be.” For half the night, it wasn’t. The Bengals’ Tanner Hudson, center, makes a one-handed catch in front of the Ravens’ Kyle Hamilton, left, for a touchdown in the third quarter. The Bengals defeated the Ravens 32-14 on Thanksgiving. (Kenneth K. Lam/Staff) The Ravens defense bent but wouldn’t break. They were left to survive impossible circumstances – like a Jackson fumble inside their own 5-yard line — and bowed up, holding Cincinnati to a field goal. Twice more the Bengals charged inside the red zone and managed three points, not seven. But Burrow is the best quarterback the Ravens have faced since Los Angeles’ Matthew Stafford in Week 6, the last time they lost. By night’s end, Burrow threw for 261 yards and two scores, breaking Baltimore’s winning streak and its run of holding six consecutive teams below 20 points. He orchestrated a time of possession beatdown, too, keeping Baltimore’s defense on the field an extra 17 minutes. “Obviously, I had to knock the rust off in the first half,” Burrow said. “I thought the second half, I started to put it more where I wanted. I settled in a little bit.” Cincinnati has four wins and a 4% chance to make the postseason, according to The New York Times’ playoff simulator. Even Burrow can’t rescue that train wreck. He is, however, the kind of quarterback the Ravens need to fight past to get where they want to be. “He is one of the elite quarterbacks in this league,” linebacker Roquan Smith said. “So he’s always going to present a lot of challenges, but at the end of the day, it is more about us, and it’s about us just doing our job to the best of our ability, and we didn’t do that play in and play out.” Ravens are ready to give Emery Jones Jr. a shot This is sort of like the backup quarterback theory. When the starter isn’t playing up to snuff, the backup, occupying some unknown cosmic reality, presents a potential upgrade. Like Schrödinger’s cat. No one is certain, but the prospect of the a guy who hasn’t played potentially being the much-needed savior is intriguing. In Baltimore, it’s not the quarterback. It’s the offensive linemen fans are calling for. On the Ravens’ second drive, rookie third-round pick Emery Jones Jr. checked in for his first big league snap. The Louisiana State product underwent successful shoulder surgery shortly after the NFL scouting combine sidelining him for the entirety of training camp. Jones ramped up in early October, was promoted to the 53-man roster later that month and made active last weekend against the Jets. Emery Jones Jr., shown at LSU in 2024, is being trusted with meaningful snaps for the Ravens as a rookie. (Michael Woods/AP) He was part of a rotating plan at left guard with Andrew Vorhees, swapping out every couple drives. Both were penalized once, Jones for a holding call that negated a 6-yard run and Vorhees jumped offsides. “I think I had a good night,” Jones said. “I had the one holding call that I wish I could get back but other than that I feel like I played pretty decent.” Added All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley: “I thought he played great besides the one penalty. But the effort he gave, he showed that he can play this league.” The reason some have been clamoring to see Jones is because the offensive line as a whole seems to have regressed. Jackson already passed his sack total from all of last season, while his pressure-to-sack ratio plummeted from near the top of the league to the basement. He recently acknowledged, somewhat in jest, that he’d have to have a talk with his O-Line. And Henry hasn’t repeated the gaudy success of a nearly 2,000-yard season. Much of that falls on the big guys up front not controlling the trenches. Harbaugh has both defended the offensive line, calling them “pretty darn good,” and acknowledged he’s open to making changes. Calling on Jones proves the latter and shows faith that the rookie, over any other backup on the roster, can challenge to be the upgrade they desperately need. Be thankful for a messy AFC North Harbaugh gave about as simple an explanation as he could of after watching his team unfurl in total calamity. “They played a winning football game and deserved the victory,” he said. “We did not play a winning football game, and that’s what happens when you don’t play winning football.” Ravens fans head for the exits during the fourth quarter of Thursday's loss to the Bengals. Even at 6-6, Baltimore is in good position to win the AFC North. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Thursday night felt like a culmination of all that has been a rough watch finally catching up to them. The Ravens have played plenty of losing football as of late, still winning games despite the offense’s shortcomings or because the opposing team is too inept to capitalize (looking at you, Jets and Browns). Still, this holiday season, the Ravens should be thankful the AFC North is such a mess. The Steelers are trending in the wrong direction. The Bengals don’t have enough time to make up all that ground. And the Browns are the Browns. That means this loss won’t end their season. But math says they can only afford maybe one more on a five-game schedule that includes three divisional bouts. “Objectively, a lot rides on this game coming up and pretty much every game, including this one, from here on out,” Hamilton said. “They remember what you do in December, so December’s coming up. We have a big December. “And yes, I think we have the guys to do it. We have the mentality to do it. It’s just a matter of doing it.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.x.com. View the full article

It was the defense that was the concern to start the year for the Ravens. It’s flipped to the offense. And, uncharacteristically, Lamar Jackson. The star quarterback turned the ball over three times in Thursday night’s 32-14 Thanksgiving loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. It marked his fourth straight game completing less than 60% of his passes. He’s fumbled four times in his past four games and has thrown an interception in three straight. Jackson’s solution? “I just got to be consistent,” he said. That’s easy to say. In fact, he repeated it 10 times in his five-minute postgame news conference. The concerning part is that the struggles have come against mediocre opponents. Jackson has completed just 59.8% of his passes since returning from injury Oct. 30. He’s had five total touchdowns with five turnovers and hasn’t accounted for a score in three games. The only consistency is his lack of efficiency. “I can’t describe the level of frustration,” Jackson said. “I’m ticked off.” Thursday followed a 153-yard showing against the New York Jets four days earlier, when Jackson didn’t score and recovered his own fumble. Against Cleveland on Nov. 16, he threw two interceptions with no touchdowns. He did score against Minnesota in Week 10 but also fumbled and finished with a 58.6% completion rate. His lone game above 60% since returning was the Oct. 30 win over Miami — a four-touchdown performance that came a day before Dolphins general manager Chris Grier was fired. None of the teams that Jackson has faced recently are in the current playoff picture. Cincinnati’s win Thursday was its fourth of the season. After ranking third in the NFL last season with 30.1 points a game, Baltimore’s offense ranks 13th at 24.1 — essentially a touchdown fewer per game. “When you turn the ball over as much as you did tonight, that’s the story of the game,” coach John Harbaugh said. Harbaugh avoided directly addressing Jackson’s accuracy issues, repeatedly saying that the team simply needs to execute better. Asked what gives him confidence that the offense can improve, he pointed to the NFL’s week-to-week nature. But the Ravens (6-6) have only five games left. Their division lead over the Steelers (6-5) is gone, though Pittsburgh faces the Buffalo Bills on Sunday before heading to Baltimore on Dec. 7. “I don’t know,” Jackson said as to why the offense is struggling. “I can’t call it. I really can’t. I don’t want to make nothing up. “I got to make these throws. I don’t miss them in practice, I shouldn’t be missing them in games.” It hasn’t just been through the air. Jackson hasn’t rushed for more than 50 yards since the Sept. 7 opener against Buffalo, in which he rushed for 70. His high since returning has been 36 yards against Minnesota, and he’s averaged just 19.6 rushing yards over his past five outings. Related Articles Ravens, Todd Monken waste Derrick Henry in Thanksgiving loss | COMMENTARY 5 things we learned from the Ravens’ 32-14 loss to the Bengals Pundits react to Ravens’ surprising 32-14 home loss to Bengals: ‘Sloppy’ The Baltimore Sun’s Ravens report card: Grades for 32-14 loss to Bengals Bengals celebrate win vs. Ravens with crab and turkey in chaotic postgame show Jackson said that he’s fully healthy, but his tightly taped ankles Thursday suggested otherwise. First it was a hamstring strain sidelining him for three games. Then knee soreness kept him out of practice just after his return. Then an ankle issue last week. He even missed Monday’s walk-through with a toe injury. Bengals defensive lineman Kris Jenkins said that Jackson didn’t look limited, and safety Dax Hill agreed. “He looked good and was still running around nearly every play,” Jenkins said. “It was the most conditioning I did in a while.” Hill credited Cincinnati’s defensive front for creating the pressure that led to Jackson’s first- and second-quarter fumbles and the tipped fourth-quarter interception. If injuries aren’t holding back Baltimore’s offense, then what is? Nobody seems to know. “I can’t speak to one thing in particular,” left tackle Ronnie Stanley said. “We’re going to figure it out. I know we are.” The Ravens are left searching. The turnovers keep piling up, the answers remain thin and Jackson’s consistency — the one thing that he keeps asking for — feels farther away with each passing week. The margin for error is only getting slimmer. Have a news tip? Contact Michael Howes at mhowes@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/Mikephowes. View the full article