KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI – SEPTEMBER 28: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens sits on the sidelines during the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on September 28, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Amy Kontras/Getty Images)
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Through four games of the young 2025 season, the Baltimore Ravens are third place in the AFC North at 1-3 overall.
During the process, they’ve accumulated major injuries to various key players such as the face of its offense and the quarterback of its defense.
Two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson suffered a hamstring injury during the third quarter of the team’s Week four loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Sunday, and he did not return. Linebacker Roquan Smith didn’t fare any better health wise as he also succumbed to a hamstring injury during the final stages of the Chiefs game that was revealed postgame as a Grade 2 hamstring strain.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Smith’s diagnosis schedules him to miss multiple weeks as the team enters into the month of October. His status comes off the heels of the Ravens revealing All-Pro defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike will miss the rest of the season with an early-season neck injury while slot corner Marlon Humphery will miss time with a calf injury he collected in the team’s Week 3 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Jackson’s injury could be heavily attributed to the immense pressure the Ravens offensive line have surrendered over the course of the year. Baltimore has surrendered 47 pressures through four games with the team’s starting quarterback succumbing to at least three sacks in three consecutive games.
While being under duress, Jackson has still managed to toss 10 touchdowns to just one interception on the season. However, PFF stats revealed he’s tossed 0 big-time throws to four turnover-worthy plays during the 52 dropbacks he’s faced pressure.
The status of Jackson’s injury is unknown at the moment, but Ravens head coach John Harbaugh articulated after the game that his starting quarterback wouldn’t have returned to game action “under any circumstances” because of the hamstring injury.
On the defensive side, no Madubuike has resulted into the Ravens run defense morphing into one of the league’s worst units through the first month of the season. They’ve allowed teams to rush for over 100 yards in each game this year with the Lions and Chiefs posting the two highest totals on Baltimore this season at 224 and 118 yards respectively.
Matchups against the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams before the bye presents its own set of challenges for the Ravens and its injury crisis. While the Texans have offensive line struggles prohibiting its passing game, Houston just rushed for a season-high 129 yards led by veteran Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks.
Houston also has one of the ferocious pass-rushing tandems in all of football headlined by Danille Hunter and Will Anderson. Each have a 37% pass-rush win rate and a combined six sacks and 32 total pressures.
Los Angeles presents a hellacious matchup for the Ravens secondary that will be down its best slot corner and maybe its best young boundary corner in Nate Wiggins. Without Lamar in the lineup to match the Rams’ offensive firepower, it presents a daunting task for Baltimore to not head into its Week 7 bye week with one win on the season.
For the time being, Baltimore will likely be entering Week 5 with journeyman backup Cooper Rush leading the charge at quarterback and mid-round rookie Teddy Buchanan manning the defensive controls at the middle linebacker position. The likelihood of saving its free-falling season will depend on the depth they’ve accumulated through free agency and recent drafts.