OWINGS MILLS, MD. — Ravens head coach John Harbaugh on Monday said he would offer no updates on the availability of quarterback Lamar Jackson for the team’s game against the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 24, saying it offered no competitive advantage to do so.
Jackson has missed the past two games with a knee injury sustained against the Denver Broncos, and the Ravens’ offense scuffled mightily with backup quarterback Tyler Huntley in a 13-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 17.
Asked about Jackson’s availability for the Falcons game, Harbaugh said he preferred to “climb behind the barricade of it’s probably not the time to put a lot of information out there on our injuries, just for competitive purposes.”
He reiterated that approach with defensive end Calais Campbell (knee) and cornerback Marcus Peters (calf), both of whom left the Browns game with injuries. Harbaugh after the game said the team would know more those injuries the next day, but he was not interested in sharing any information he may have learned.
The Ravens next take the practice field on Dec. 20, and all eyes will be on the quarterback group to see if Jackson is taking part in the workout.
Peters and Campbell both have had veteran days off throughout the season, so their absences would be less notable, but their availability for Christmas Eve is highly questionable.
The Ravens (9-5) have dropped to second place in the AFC North with three games remaining, but they still retain control of their destiny; they win the division if they win their final three games, which would include a win against the first-place Cincinnati Bengals (10-4) in the regular-season finale. At 12-5, the Ravens would earn the tiebreaker over the Bengals based on a sweep of the season series; the Ravens beat the Bengals, 19-17, in Week 5.
First things first, though, the Raven have to deal with the Falcons (5-9) on Christmas Eve at M&T Bank Stadium.
“We’re preparing for a very physical, tough game,” Harbaugh said. ” … Very important December game. These games are individualized. One game at a time, high-stakes games. We recognize that, and we’re excited to play in a meaningful game in December.”
NOTEBOOK
HARBAUGH: ‘WE COULD HAVE RUN IT’ MORE: Trailing 13-3 in the fourth quarter at Cleveland, the Ravens virtually completely abandoned a rushing attack that had been their most potent weapon throughout the game, and in hindsight, Harbaugh acknowledged that the Ravens “could have run it” more, though he said the clock at that point was still an enemy.
“You look at that real hard and say, ‘Yeah, we could have run it,'” Harbaugh said. “We were hitting them with some good runs, and maybe we would have popped a few runs because we were doing well. That conversation’s one that we had.
“By the same token, you’re down two scores, and it’s going to be two possessions, probably, to have the chance to get it back. So you want to make ’em as quick as you can.”
Quarterback Tyler Huntley, though, had shown no quick-strike capability or inclination to take deep shots downfield. Making his sixth career start in place of Jackson, he finished 17-for-30 for 138 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt. In the fourth quarter specifically, he was 5-for-11 for 32 yards, with two sacks. Four of his five completions went for 7 yards or less.
The Ravens’ biggest plays of the game came on the ground, a 37-yard run by J.K. Dobbins, a 25-yard run by Dobbins and a 25-yard run by Gus Edwards. That duo totaled 20 carries for 180 yards, averaging 9 yards a run. Dobbins did not touch the ball again after his 37-yard run late in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Ravens called 13 pass plays and one run, a 4-yard gain by Edwards. Most notably, beginning on second-and-4 midway through the fourth quarter, Huntley threw three straight incompletions and the Ravens turned the ball over on downs.
“It wasn’t that we were opposed to running the ball,” Harbaugh said, “but when you run the ball, the clock runs, and we were looking at how many possessions we were going to get. [We] called more passes.”
HARBAUGH: ‘WE HAVE GREAT COACHES’: Harbaugh pushed back on criticism of offensive coordinator Greg Roman, saying, “We have great coaches and great players at the highest level.” He noted that a few weeks ago, he was facing questions about a struggling run game.
The Ravens have scored just two touchdowns in 11 quarters since Jackson went down with an injury, and the Ravens entered Week 15 with the league’s 27th-ranked passing offense.
“All of our coaches, including Greg and everybody else, are fully capable of understanding the pass game and what we’ve got to do to get it done,” Harbaugh said.
Asked whether there would be any changes in responsibilities among the staff, Harbaugh said, “We’re not getting into all that. You guys can talk about all that. I respect that. I love the fans talking about everything. … We’re together, man, we’re a team. We’re in here, we’re spending all of our time getting ready for the Atlanta Falcons.”
“We’re getting ready to play the game,” Harbaugh added, “so all that other stuff, we don’t have time for that. As Coach Belichick said, ‘We’re on to Atlanta.’ “
HARBAUGH ON BOWSER POST: ‘NOT MUCH THERE’: Linebacker Tyus Bowser, in a since-deleted post on Instagram after the Ravens loss at Cleveland, displayed hand-written papers scattered on the ground outside the entrance to the team facility that read “Fire Greg Roman,” but Harbaugh said he has spoken with Bowser and “There’s not much there.”
“When stuff like that happens, you communicate with one another, and you find out there’s really not much there, in terms of what people are thinking,” Harbaugh said.
Bowser and other players are next available to the media after the team’s practice on Dec. 20.
“I could go on a social media rant,” Harbaugh continued. ” … I don’t know why anybody lives there. I don’t live there. I don’t care about any of that. I’m not foolish enough to live in that world. … Tyus Bowser is a great guy who wants to win and has good intentions and wants to be a great teammate, and we talked about that. He’s in a good place, and we’re past that.”
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox