Yesterday, on December 31, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh provided news that Lamar Jackson is expected to return from injury for the do-or-die Week 18 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
One day later, on January 1, Jackson sent a more definitive message on his Week 18 status.
“100%,” Jackson told reporters (relayed via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley), after being asked if he plans to suit up versus the Steelers.
Hensley also shared a video of Jackson’s press conference, in which he confirmed that he will be wearing extra padding to help protect his back contusion.
Jackson missed Week 17 after leaving Week 16 early with the aforementioned back injury. Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley started in his place, as Baltimore defeated the Green Bay Packers by a score of 41 to 24.
Lamar Jackson Has Struggled Due to Injury in 2025, But Had 1 of His Better Games in Ravens’ First Loss to Steelers
It’s been a weird year for Jackson and the Ravens. Huntley has done well when called upon, leaning on Derrick Henry and the run game, but Jackson certainly adds another element when he’s at the top of his game.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case for the majority of the 2025 campaign. Jackson started the year strong before suffering an injury against the Kansas City Chiefs.
After missing some time, Jackson returned on October 30 versus the Miami Dolphins. Since then, he just hasn’t been his usual MVP finalist self more often than not.
Jackson was credited with the following QBRs (graded out of 100) from the Dolphins game through the first matchup with the Steelers: 93.4, 53.2, 31.9, 35.9, 20.2, 73.4.
As you can see, after initially looking great against Miami, Jackson tail-spinned a bit, hampered by nagging injuries every week. Finally, he rebounded against Pittsburgh despite the Ravens falling short in that matchup.
Since the first Steelers matchup, Jackson has been more consistent. He earned QBRs of 66.7 and 91.0 (before leaving with injury) against the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots.
Then he was derailed by the back injury, and here we are.
At the end of the day, Jackson is a former two-time NFL MVP, and the Ravens will always live and die with him if he’s able to play. But his inconsistent play this season does raise some interesting questions.
Will the Steelers be able to fluster Jackson, following another week on the bench? Would the Ravens be better off riding the hot hand with the Huntley-Henry version of the offense? Or is this all crazy talk, and will Jackson rise to the occasion as he often does?
Whatever happens, at least the Steelers know which quarterback they’ll be preparing for in Week 18.
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