Nov 16, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) throws downfield during the first quarter during the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

Ravens HC Maintains Trust in Struggling Offensive Line

Originally posted on Baltimore Ravens on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Nov 18, 2025 3:00 PM ET

The Baltimore Ravens have spent their season spurring and falling victim to constantly-changing narratives, allowing their mixture of their on-field play and fortune to dictate one of the most whiplash-inducing squads in the NFL.

An inability to meet the primetime moments against the contending opponents lining the opening leg of the Ravens' schedule resulted in a string early losses, and those only continued when star quarterback Lamar Jackson missed a month while tending to a hamstring injury. Now that he's back, the Ravens have won enough games to climb all the way back to .500 with seven games remaining.

Across all that drama, some of the underlying issues with the roster haven't gone anywhere. The same flimsy offensive line that repeatedly put Jackson under more pressure than any other quarterback in the league continued doing their thing during his absence, and remained about the same as he remembered after the team opted to hold the line with the position group at the trade deadline.

Advancing In Spite Of Failed Garrett Test

They were faced with a tough challenge in their potentially-season-saving game against the Cleveland Browns, with a pivotal 23-16 finish finally propelling them to their fifth win to tie their loss count.

The offensive line didn't exactly pass the sniff test in completely succumbing to Myles Garrett's sack party, giving up four of them to the former Defensive Player of the Year, but head coach John Harbaugh reiterated his faith in Jackson's "protectors" on the day following the win.

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

“Yeah," he answered when asked whether he's seen enough progress from the line to avoid making changes to the lineup. "You put the best five out there. The five guys that are playing the best. That’s not even hard to answer…they’re playing pretty darn good…We put our best out there and we fight.”

Exploiting Baltimore's Sack Tendencies

The award-winning defensive end headlined the weekly scouting report, and even if he remained the top priority by a landslide, this over-matched platoon was already fighting an uphill battle against the season's sack leader. They've allowed 30 sacks to the three quarterbacks on the roster, including 23 to Jackson after Garrett's four-piece.

That ties the amount Jackson took all throughout last season, and he played in all 17 games in that First Team All-Pro campaign, and he did it by suiting up in 10 fewer games.

Patrick Ricard's return to the unit has been crucial, with the decorated fullback sufficiently improving Jackson's pocket while providing running back Derrick Henry with a much-needed blocker to open up some of the routes that closed up without him. Harbaugh sounded optimistic on the line's gradual improvement, but others besides Ricard will have to stand stronger against the league's top pocket threats if they have hopes of making something out of their midseason turnaround.

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

More must-reads: