Lamar Jackson and Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl dream on the brink of collapse – is there time for a comeback? | NFL News

Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens are teetering on the edge of their season being over, Aaron Rodgers is set to face the Green Bay Packers for the first time since his exit and Tyler Warren is feasting as one of football’s most exciting tight ends. We look ahead to NFL Sunday…

Editor’s note…

We are in last-chance saloon territory.

The clocks go back this weekend, meaning an earlier kickoff time of 5pm in the UK for Saturday’s first slate of games. How John Harbaugh and the Ravens would love to turn back time and start this season all over again.

Baltimore picked the worst time to collapse. The powers above picked the cruellest of moments in which to strike Lamar Jackson and much of the Ravens offense down with injury. Derrick Henry picked an unfortunate moment in which to unveil that he is, in fact, human, and Zach Orr has been handed the nastiest of situations in which to prove his long-term defensive coordinator credentials.

Ask many, including this writer, and the Ravens had entered the season as a strong favourite to mount a Super Bowl charge. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs had seemingly been stripped of invincibility by way a dismantling at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LIX, a dynasty cycle deemed to be at its end as Andy Reid’s side dropped their first two games of the campaign amid an almighty struggle to move the ball as one of the more painful-to-watch, non-factor offenses in the league.

It would barge open a ‘finally their time’ door for Jackson’s Ravens and reigning MVP Josh Allen’s Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs have governed the AFC as winner in five of seven Conference Championship games since 2018; a changing of the guard felt inevitable. Not quite.

The Ravens enter Sunday’s game against a momentum-building Chicago Bears 1-5 and staring at the prospect of a wasted year. Jackson returned to the practice field, albeit on a limited basis, for the first time since September 28 on Wednesday having missed the last two defeats with a hamstring injury, with Cooper Rush struggling in his place at quarterback. There had been the hope he would return in time for Week Eight following his team’s bye, though his status remains unconfirmed.

Baltimore are 4-12 when missing Jackson since he became starter. The offense has managed just a combined 33 points in the three games he hasn’t both started and finished this year. Orr’s injury-shredded defense, which has been missing the likes of defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike and linebacker Roquan Smith, meanwhile ranks third worst in the league in total points allowed and worst in scoring.

Their slump has arrived during a wide-open playoff race in which no team appears ready to lead from the front; even Allen’s Bills have dropped two straight games against the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons having been ominously dominant across a 4-0 start, while Joe Burrow’s injury could leave the Cincinnati Bengals playing too-little-too-late catchup, as was the case last season.

The exception, of course, is the Indianapolis Colts as the 6-1 story of the season behind a reborn Daniel Jones and MVP-challenging Jonathan Taylor. In contrast to others, Shane Steichen’s side picked a pretty handy time to stun football.

With Baltimore’s problems and Burrow’s absence in Cincinnati has also come opportunity for Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers to take control of the AFC North.

And guess who decided to wake up again? That man Mahomes and those Chiefs, who are trending upwards by way of a reignited offense and a quarterback determined to remind the league he remains the best player in his position. I mean, Mahomes faked a fake snap and fooled every player on the field except Rashee Rice with a no-look pass against the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday, having out-classed the Detroit Lions a week prior; 15 is feeling himself again.

You (our one reader) may remember a few weeks ago we welcomed a dose of chippy pettiness across the league, be it AJ Brown’s complaints or Micah Parsons lamenting Jerry Jones ghosting him. The war of words continued this week as Russell Wilson and Sean Payton took aim at one another, Jets owner Woody Johnson pinned the blame for his team’s latest embarrassing campaign on quarterback Justin Fields and hot-seat Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel underlined his hope to ‘not throw 10 interceptions’ while announcing under-fire Tua Tagovailoa would start again on Sunday; talk about a coach who knows his time is coming to an end.

Elsewhere this weekend, Sky Sports NFL will be represented in Lawrence, Kansas as part of a special college football experience gearing up to next September’s historic game between Kansas and Arizona State at Wembley Stadium. Keep an eye out for an insight into our trip as football continues to grow around the globe.

Fun fact, the son of Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, Tate Nagy, is currently a freshman wide receiver and kick returner for Kansas.

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Benedict’s Stats corner

Sky Sports statistician – and Buffalo Bills fan – Benedict Bermange breaks down some of the key stats heading into Sunday…

• DeAndre Hopkins needs seven receptions to become the second-youngest player in NFL history to reach 1,000 receptions, only behind Larry Fitzgerald
• Mark Andrews needs 74 receiving yards to pass Derrick Mason’s total of 6,092 receiving yards and become the all-time franchise leader for the Ravens
• With his next game with both a rushing and passing touchdown, Josh Allen would become the all-time leader with 46 such games, breaking his tie with Cam Newton
• If the Steelers beat the Packers, Aaron Rodgers would join Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady as the only Quarterbacks to win against 32 different NFL teams as a starting quarterback
• Caleb Williams has only been sacked 1.83 times per game in 2025 after taking 4.00 per game in 2024, the third-largest decrease by any player from one season to the next in the last 20 years
• Christian McCaffrey needs 18 receiving yards to become just the fifth player in NFL history with at least 5,000 rushing and 5,000 receiving yards, following Marshall Faulk, Lenny Moore, Marcus Allen and Tiki Barber

What to look out for on Sunday

Chicago Bears @ Baltimore Ravens – KO 5pm, Sky Sports NFL

“The Bears don’t completely suck for the first time in forever, not COMPLETELY,” said a lady beside me on a connecting flight from Chicago to Kansas City. Fair point. The marriage between Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson has been brewing nicely in recent weeks across a four-game winning streak, the former No 1 pick knocking off the No 2 pick of his class in Jayden Daniels having been trumped by his counterpart during the respective rookie unveilings. Within Chicago’s success has been the role of running back D’Andre Swift, who has 233 rushing yards and a touchdown alongside 81 receiving yards and a score in two games since the Week Five bye. Every young quarterback needs a complementary run game.

Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith is poised to return from injury to face his former team as a key to spring Swift. But all eyes remain on Baltimore’s situation under center as they await news on Jackson’s availability against a team leading the NFL with 16 takeaways, including at least three in each of the last four games. Cooper Rush has tossed four picks in the last two outings; the Ravens cannot afford to hurt themselves at this stage, with the playoffs swiftly getting away from them.

San Francisco 49ers @ Houston Texans – KO 5pm, Sky Sports+

Care to take a quick scan at the leaders in receiving yards this season and you may find yourself double-taking at the name in No 8 – Christian McCaffrey. The 49ers running back is up to 516 receiving yards and 465 rushing yards this season in his comeback from missing 13 games last year. He is on course for a second season of 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards, having achieved the feat in 2019 with the Carolina Panthers. He also leads the NFL in scrimmage yards, having done so across both the 2019 and 2023 campaigns.

While Houston continue to boast one of the most potent defenses in football, CJ Stroud finds himself at the center of a stuttering attack sitting 11th worst in total yards and 12th-worst in scoring. Head coach DeMeco Ryans insisted this week he did not plan to make a change at offensive coordinator, but time could be running out for Nick Caley, marred by a porous offensive line that had always looked a major concern coming into the year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ New Orleans Saints – KO 8pm, Sky Sports+ (stream)

It looms as an interesting week for an otherwise uninteresting season as far as narrative-inspectors are concerned when it comes to the New Orleans Saints. The NFL trade deadline is approaching on November 4, and while Alvin Kamara has evidently made desire to stay put clear, wide receivers Rashid Shaheed and Chris Olave have emerged as potential trade options for playoff contenders seeking reinforcements on the outside. Kellen Moore always had his work cut out for him in quarterback purgatory in New Orleans; losing two of his star weapons won’t help. With that said, the small-volume spectacular-privvy deep threat of Shaheed on a contender is quite the tantalising thought. He is a glorious throwback.

An MVP-contending Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield this week said he ‘hates’ the Saints while suggesting they did not play ‘clean’ football. Mayfield has been sacked eight times and thrown seven interceptions in five games against New Orleans, who lead the head-to-head series 40-27 while winning just one of the last six meetings between the teams.

Dallas Cowboys @ Denver Broncos – KO 8.25pm, Sky Sports NFL & Part Main Event

For all the scrutiny Jerry Jones faces for his wheeling and dealing at times, he and Brian Schottenheimer have seemingly found an answer to last season’s debilitating run game woes in the form of Javonte Williams, who returns to Denver for the first time since his offseason departure. Williams enters the week second in the NFL with 592 rushing yards with a tied-third-most six rushing touchdowns. He features as part of a firing Cowboys offense ranked first in total yards behind Dak Prescott, second in passing yards, and a receiving trio of George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. Dallas, though, have lost seven straight to Denver since 1998.

Bo Nix and his Broncos offense have some rights to wrong having required 33-point fourth-quarter heroics and a missed extra point from Jude MacTamney to overturn a 19-0 deficit and scrape past Jaxson Dart’s Giants last weekend. It came a week on from submitting to Jets mediocrity to survive an upset against a New York Jets team that finished had led 11-10 in a performance that ended in them posting -10 net passing yards.

Tennessee Titans @ Indianapolis Colts – KO 8.25pm, Sky Sports+

Titans quarterback Cam Ward is about to encounter one of the tougher acid tests of his mental processing and field diagnosis that he will face across his rookie campaign in the NFL. On Sunday he meets Mad Scientist Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who has weaponised safety duo Nick Cross and Cam Bynum as feature cogs to his disguised coverages and simulated pressures amid his unit’s ascent as one of the stingiest scoring defenses in the league. Cross underlined his rise against the Los Angeles Chargers last week with a stunning one-handed end zone interception, resisting temptation to bite on the corner route and swivelling his hopes perfectly to jump the route of Quinton Johnston on the crosser.

But, of course, the story of the season for the Colts is a high-flying offense, in which rookie tight end Tyler Warren has become a defining cog to Shane Steichen’s finely-balanced attack as a pass-catching threat, powerful yards-after-catch chain-mover and accomplished blocker who has played just about every role on offense.

Green Bay Packers @ Pittsburgh Steelers – KO 12.20am Monday morning, Sky Sports NFL & Main Event

By now, and for as long as football has known Aaron Rodgers, it isn’t too hard to imagine the ironic ‘that’s how you want to play it?’ nod and smile as the Green Bay Packers drafted his successor Jordan Love in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft. The four-time MVP quarterback didn’t expect it, and nor did we, as Love’s arrival ultimately spelled the beginning of the end for Rodgers at Lambeau Field.

After two turbulent years as part of a devastatingly flawed New York Jets experiment, flashes of Rodgers magic have resurfaced sporadically over the first half of his maiden campaign with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now the 41-year-old gets his first shot at taking down Green Bay, who continue to hop between the appearance of a juggernaut contender and an untrustworthy picture of inconsistency since blowing away the Detroit Lions in Week One. It will be Rodgers’ first game against his old team after spending 18 years with Green Bay, where he said this week he will return to retire when the day comes.

News around the league

• Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson returned to practice on Wednesday for the first time since September 28
• Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels has been ruled out of Monday’s game against the Chiefs due to a hamstring strain, with Marcus Mariota primed to start
• The Raiders have told star edge rusher Maxx Crosby he won’t be traded ahead of the league deadline on November 4, with Crosby also reportedly not interested in a trade
• Defensive end Brandon Graham is finalising a deal to come out of retirement and re-sign with the Eagles
• The Titans granted Tyler Lockett his request to be released, leaving the veteran wide receiver free to sign with another team
• The Giants cut Irish kicker Jude McAtamney after his crucial extra point misses in Sunday’s 33-32 defeat to the Broncos
• Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans is set to miss most of the remainder of the season after suffering a broken clavicle
• The NFL have moved the 2026 Pro Bowl Games to Super Bowl LX in the Bay Area

Who said what?

Broncos HC Sean Payton on facing Giants QB Jaxson Dart instead of recently-benched Russell Wilson: “I was talking to John Mara not too long ago and I said, ‘We were hoping that change would’ve happened long after our game.”

Wilson’s response: “Classless… but not surprised… Didn’t realise you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later through the media.”

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb on the Dallas offense: “This one is the best one I’ve been on, and I’ve been on some great ones. It’s just the way that we can move around these pieces, these players, and everybody everywhere. We can line up faster than any. It’s tough.”

Jets owner Woody Johnson blames QB Justin Fields, not HC Aaron Glenn, for team’s struggles: “It looks like he (Glenn) is turning around parts of it. You know, it’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that we’ve got. He has ability, but something is just not jiving. But if you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that, you’re going to see similar results across the league. You have to play consistently at that position, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel on QB Tua Tagovailoa: As Tua and I have always operated, I think there’s zero uncertainty with Tua on my conviction in him and my belief in him. I think we’re both very, very eager to be better at our jobs, and we’re both very committed and trusting in each other to respond to what is necessary for the team to do better.”

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