The Baltimore Ravens‘ rushing attack is one of a kind thanks to Lamar Jackson, but they may have just lost their lead running back in J.K. Dobbins during Saturday’s Week 3 game against the Washington Football Team.
Dobbins was injured after catching a screen pass in the first quarter and went to the turf immediately clutching his knee, per The Athletic‘s Jeff Zrebiec:
The second-year tailback out of Ohio State was selected in the second round of the 2020 draft, and he showed how explosive he could be even as a rookie, rushing for 805 yards and nine touchdowns on six yards per carry.
Jackson ran for more than 1,000 yards, and Gus Edwards chipped in another 723 to help Baltimore eclipse a whopping 3,000 yards rushing as a team.
With a new-look offensive line and the need for game reps to shake off rust, it makes sense that the Ravens elected to get Jackson, Dobbins and other starters some work in Saturday’s contest. Unfortunately, that decision may have cost Dobbins missing significant time, which, in turn, could affect Baltimore’s playoff hopes.
Even though the running game should still be fine with Jackson at quarterback, there’s serious reason for concern, especially with the injuries that have hit the Ravens’ receiving corps in training camp. Already an unproven group to begin with, Jackson will probably take a while to get proper chemistry with his top targets in the regular season.
It seems like Baltimore is competitive no matter what under head coach John Harbaugh. Although running back is widely viewed as one of the more replaceable positions, it’s really hard to find someone with Dobbins’ upside and explosiveness who, again, averaged six yards every time he touched the ball in 2020.
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