3 advantages the Bengals have over the Ravens in the Wild Card round
A healthy QB room
This will be the story to watch throughout the week.
As we saw in Week 18, Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley did not play. Huntley more so for precautionary reasons, but Jackson has now missed over a month of football to end the season, and there is still no sign if he will be ready to go Sunday or not.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh didn't have an update Monday on Lamar Jackson's status for Sunday's playoff game, despite reports the star quarterback has "a strong chance" of returning this week. https://t.co/u5J8LPkssj
— WJZ | CBS Baltimore (@wjz) January 10, 2023
The Ravens have not given a firm decision or explanation on his current status. Even if he plays, what version of Lamar Jackson will we see? The big thing to note is that Jackson is in a contract year with the expectation to be one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league.
However, all off-season and all of this year the Ravens and Jackson were not able to negotiate a deal that worked for both sides. Now the question that has been raised at times is if Jackson is being as cautious as possible with his knee because of a financial aspect. This is probably the smart business decision but could leave a damper on the Baltimore playoff run.
Tyler Huntley has been doing most of the duties over the last month and the Ravens are 0-3 over their past three losing to all AFC North opponents. Anthony Brown would be the second string if Jackson can't go. If he can, Huntley will serve as the backup on the depth chart.
Joe Burrow has been thriving going into the postseason. He had trouble at times on Sunday against the Ravens' secondary but nonetheless, came out on top and has been playing at an MVP-caliber level over the last eight weeks which the Bengals are carrying into the postseason. Cincinnati finished season 8-0 and is undefeated so far in December and January.