Ravens Backup QB Confident Heading Into Start vs. Texans

For the first time since Week 16 of the 2022 season, someone other than Lamar Jackson will be running out of the tunnel at M&T Bank Stadium when the Baltimore Ravens' starting quarterback is announced as a result of injury and not rest in a regular-season finale.

Now that the two-time league MVP has officially been ruled out for the team's Week 5 matchup with the Houston Texans, along with five other starters, it'll be backup Cooper Rush lining up under center with the starting offense.

Filling in for one of the best quarterbacks in the league is a daunting task, but it's not one the ninth-year veteran is unfamiliar with, as he was the primary backup for the Dallas Cowboys in seven of his first eight seasons and started 14 games in place of three-time Pro Bowler Dak Prescott.

"Whenever a franchise QB goes down, it's always a 'sky-is-falling' feeling everywhere you are. It's normal," Rush said.

Unlike this past week, when he had to enter the game cold off the bench in relief of Jackson, who left late in the third quarter with a hamstring injury, Rush has the benefit of getting a full week's worth of reps in practice with the first team offense and will be making his 15th career start.

"It's always a lot better when you get all the reps in practice like that to prepare yourself for a game, compared to a usual week where you're preparing and all that, but you don't get those reps, so those are important," Rush said. "Getting the whole week to actually go out and practice it, too, it's a lot better than just coming in with no practice reps in the middle of a game, so I've enjoyed that."

The 31-year-old felt like the Ravens offense had a "crisp" week of practice with him at the helm, getting more acclimated with the talented targets he'll be throwing to, and is confident that they'll be able to carry it over to the game.

"[We have] a good plan, and being out there with that one group, I can understand the receivers and what they see and how they see it and tight ends and things like that," Rush said. "You always watch from behind Lamar [Jackson] and how they run it and then try to replicate that and get a good feel for it."

Since Jackson's first year as a full-time starter in 2019, the Ravens are 4-10 in games without him, whether it's due to injury, illness or rest. However, they haven't invested in the backup quarterback position as much as they did when they signed Rush to a two-year deal worth $6.2 million in half a decade, when former Pro Bowler and No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, Robert Griffin III.