TheRavens were able to clinch the #1 seed in the AFC and also earned a first round bye after they defeated the Browns 31-15 Sunday. Baltimore’s second-year quarterback Lamar Jackson, however, doesn’t seem like he’s ready to ride the bench for the last regular season game.
“Yeah, I want to play. No Doubt,” Jackson told NFL.com,. “But it’s coach’s decision. It’s up to coach.” But is it worth him getting injured? Absolutely not. They have come so far this year, and for the former Heisman Trophy winner to go down with an injury before the playoffs would surely end any hopes of reaching the Super Bowl. Mark Ingram is already being treated for suffering a strained calf against the Browns, and they cannot afford to lose another starter.
“It was very tough. We don’t ever want to see that, but we know he’ll be good, so we’re happy with that. He has time to recover. Hopefully, he’ll be better than 100 [percent] and better than ever,” Jackson said about Ingram.
Head coach John Harbaugh is being very cautious with the star running back who is coming off a fantastic year with 1,018 yards rushing and ten touchdowns while averaging five yards a carry. Most likely Ingram will be held out of a few practices to heal up.
“The thing I want to emphasize is that no matter what we do, the emphasis is going to be on winning the football game,” Harbaugh said. “We want to win the football game. We want that 14th win. There’s no doubt about that.”
The Ravens host to the Steelers next Sunday, and if Jackson suits up, he could help play spoiler and end Pittsburgh’s hopes of a playoff berth if Baltimore wins. Pittsburgh lost a heart-breaker to the Jets Sunday. If they had won that game and their last game against Baltimore they were guaranteed to make the playoffs. Now, they have to win and hope the Titans lose, or lose an have a bunch of other unlikely scenarios play out.
