As the Kansas City Chiefs fell on a rainy Monday night, the Baltimore Ravens rose up in the process.
Lamar Jackson and his Ravens are perched atop the AFC at the moment, seeded first in the conference.
Does it mean anything to Jackson heading into a Week 12 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers?
“Not really,” Jacksons said Tuesday, via team transcript. “It’s still a lot of season left to play. It doesn’t really mean anything right now.”
Sitting at 8-3 heading into Sunday, the Ravens’ edge in the AFC and in the AFC North is precarious.
The Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns sport 7-3 tallies heading into the holiday week’s festivities.
Jackson and Co. were the official No. 1 seed back in 2019, heading into the playoffs with a 14-2 record. This is a different ballgame with the Ravens atop an ultra-close conference with six weeks left in the season.
Plenty more can happen, and Jackson is well aware of that.
One major hurdle to overcome will be injuries, something Jackson is well versed in. He’s missed at least the final four games of each of the last two seasons.
Jackson tweaked his ankle on multiple occasions in Thursday night’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals and had it heavily wrapped on the sidelines. He said it was doing well on Tuesday, though.
“I believe I’m good,” Jackson said. “I believe I’m 100%.”
Unfortunately, tight end Mark Andrews is not.
Though there’s optimism Andrews could return from what was originally tabbed as a season-ending ankle injury, said return wouldn’t come likely until the playoffs.
So, Baltimore’s offense will be operating sans Andrews for the foreseeable future. While the Ravens will need to make the best of things, Jackson isn’t a believer that his Pro Bowl tight end is replaceable.
“I don’t think we’re equipped to lose him at all just because of the guy he is — one of our leaders on offense besides myself,” the QB said. “We have great receivers, and we have a great backfield, we have great tight ends who are stepping up. Just our team, I’ll say, is just different all around. That’s why we’re able to go on without our brother. That’s all.”
Despite the emergence of rookie receiver Zay Flowers (53 receptions, 588 yards, one touchdown) and the renaissance of late of Odell Beckham (24/374/2), Andrews still boasts a team-high six TD catches to go with 45 receptions and 544 yards, which came despite missing a game earlier in the season.
It’s a long road ahead with plenty of potholes.
The Ravens are No. 1 right now, but No. 8 knows it doesn’t matter until Week 18.
