Tyler Huntley is running the Baltimore Ravens offense with more ruthless efficiency than Lamar Jackson, and the only people too terrified to admit it are the ones signing Jackson’s paychecks.
On Friday, first-year head coach Jesse Minter ruled his two-time MVP quarterback out for a second straight week with the left ankle sprain Jackson suffered when Titans defensive end Jermaine Johnson II sacked him on the final play of the first half on October 4. That sends the 28-year-old Huntley back onto the field today at Huntington Bank Field against the 3-2 Cleveland Browns with first place in the AFC North on the line. While a vocal segment of Ravens fans on X is already panicking about Jackson’s durability and begging him to tough it out for a division road game, I think sitting him is the smartest move Baltimore has made all autumn.
Look at what happens when Huntley steps into the huddle. Across his past three fill-in starts for Jackson, Baltimore has won all three while averaging a ridiculous 33.7 points per game. Since the start of the 2025 season, per ESPN, Huntley owns the highest QBR (79.7) and highest completion rate (77.8%) of any quarterback in the NFL with at least three starts. Last Sunday night in Atlanta, he carved up the Falcons by going 24-of-32 for 201 yards, two passing touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a game-winning one-yard overtime quarterback sneak in a 30-23 victory.
“We won’t bat an eye with Snoop being in there,” Minter told reporters on Friday, per ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.
Minter shouldn’t bat an eye, because Huntley is operating the playbook like a point guard with an automatic green light.
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The strongest argument against keeping Jackson on the sideline comes from the historical cliff this franchise falls off whenever No. 8 is in street clothes: since 2019, the Ravens are 79-32 (.712) averaging 28.4 points per game with Jackson starting, and a hideous 6-11 (.353) averaging 17.6 points without him. That drop-off helps explain why the betting line in Cleveland shrank from Ravens -4.5 toward -3 this week.
Here is why that historical record is a dinosaur stat in 2026. When Jackson is on the field, even completing 70.8% of his passes for 967 yards and six touchdowns across his first four games, every snap carries the tax of hero-ball variance. When Jackson has a bum wheel…and make no mistake, leaving the stadium in a protective boot after Week 4 means the lateral juice is compromised…playing him against a division pass rush with center Cam Jurgens already ruled out with a concussion and tight end Matthew Hibner sidelined with a hand injury is begging for a disaster.
Huntley eliminates the hero-ball tax by leaning straight into the structural meat of this roster. Baltimore ranks third in the NFL at 164.4 rushing yards per game because Derrick Henry is still a human snowplow with 476 rushing yards and seven touchdowns through five weeks. When defenses load the box and play single-high or creep a safety down to stop Henry’s duo and inside-zone tracks, Huntley doesn’t hold the ball hunting for a 50-yard highlight reel. He takes the RPO glance route or hits Zay Flowers (405 receiving yards) on rhythm in the quick game before the pass rush even clears its first step.
“The preparation and work that we do during the week helps,” Huntley said Friday, per the Associated Press. “Just getting ready for the game so you can feel at ease while you are going through the scenarios.”
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Minter framed Friday’s ruling as a call made with the long-term health of his 29-year-old franchise centerpiece in mind.
“I think it’s just a decision for his best interest,” Minter said Friday, per ESPN. “And that’s really what every decision’s always going to be about.”
Even Henry backed the slow-play approach on Friday.
“Of course we want L out there, but we also want L to be healthy and be ready whenever he’s ready,” Henry told ESPN. “Our job is just to hold it down until he gets back. Snoop’s doing a heck of a job.”
My take goes a step further than Minter’s cautious coachspeak. Even if Jackson wakes up next Wednesday feeling 85 percent ahead of the Week 7 home clash against the Cincinnati Bengals on October 25, Baltimore has zero reason to rush him back if Huntley cooks Cleveland today.
With defensive tackle Broderick Washington also out with an ankle injury, the Ravens get edge rusher Trey Hendrickson back from a two-game absence with a finger injury just in time to hunt in Cleveland. A dominant ground game, Hendrickson pinning his ears back, and a backup quarterback completing over 77 percent of his throws since the start of last season is a formula that beats most of the league without risking the franchise quarterback’s ankle.
If Tyler Huntley drops another 30-burger on the Browns in Cleveland today to push Baltimore to 5-1, how much longer can Ravens fans pretend this offense needs Lamar Jackson to save it in October?
