Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Ravens Enter Bye Week With Hard Lesson Learned

Originally posted on Baltimore Ravens on SI
By Anthony Miller | Last updated Oct 15, 2025 9:00 AM ET

Nothing has gone smoothly for the Baltimore Ravens in 2025 with reality hitting them in the face in ways the franchise hasn't dealt with in a long time.

The start of the season seemed normal with a 1-1 start, a close loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, and a blowout win to the Cleveland Browns in Week 2. Even the loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 3 wasn't exactly soul-crushing. They faced a good team, so nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for the poor defensive performance.

Things really started going off the rails when Lamar Jackson got hurt against the Kansas City Chiefs, and multiple other players were starting to get banged up. This led to what is now a four-game losing streak and a 1-5 record entering a desperately needed bye week.

ESPN released its power rankings for Week 7, with the Ravens unsurprisingly ranked 24th; that's a drop from their 22nd ranking in Week 6. What was notable from the article was that each team's beat writers were asked about what lesson each team has learned so far. Jamison Hensley had the simplest answer: they can't win without Lamar Jackson.

"Baltimore signed Cooper Rush to a two-year, $6.2 million deal (including $4 million guaranteed) with the hope he could keep the Ravens in contention if Jackson suffered a short-term injury," Hensley said. "But Baltimore is 0-2 and has produced a total of 13 points without Jackson (hamstring injury) this season. Rush, who went 9-5 as a fill-in quarterback in Dallas, has thrown four interceptions and no touchdowns with Baltimore. The good news for the Ravens is that coach John Harbaugh expects Jackson to return after this week's bye."

Peter Casey-Imagn Images

The truth is in the pudding, as the last two games have absolutely been miserable without Jackson running the offense. Baltimore has turned to Cooper Rush to handle the offense, and he has not shown much of anything during this period.

In two games, the Ravens have scored just 13 points with Rush passing for 251 yards and four interceptions in those contests. It got so bad with Rush that Tyler Huntley had to step in and take over the fourth quarter of the 17-3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6.

The Ravens were banking on Rush being a reliable backup, but now it has just brought up a new quarterback controversy between him and Huntley. While Rush might have a "better resume," Huntley knows this offense well and runs it similarly to how Jackson would.

Baltimore is hopeful that Jackson will return as the starter after the bye, and they won't have to worry about it the rest of the season. It could be bad if Rush or Huntley has to step in again and start.

This article first appeared on Baltimore Ravens on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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