Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer January 1, 2024, 4:24 pm ET
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- Jamison Hensley is a reporter who covers the Baltimore Ravens for ESPN. Jamison joined ESPN in 2011 and covered the AFC North before focusing exclusively on the Ravens beginning in 2013. Jamison won the National Sports Media Association's Maryland Sportswriter of the Year award in 2018 and authored a book titled “Flying High: Stories of the Baltimore.” Ravens. From 2000 to 2011, he was the Ravens' beat writer for the Baltimore Sun.
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday that he has not yet made a decision on whether NFL MVP favorite Lamar Jackson will start Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which has no impact on Baltimore.
The Ravens secured the AFC North title and No. 1 seed in the AFC with Sunday's 56:19 win over the Miami Dolphins.
“We have to deal with the injury first,” Harbaugh said. “We'll probably need 24 to 48 hours to really get a handle on this and then we'll make those decisions. We won't keep it secret. We will let you know what we will do as soon as we start practicing [on Wednesday].”
If Jackson doesn't play, he would have at least 19 days off between games. Baltimore would host a divisional round game on January 20th or 21st.
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The last time the Ravens faced this scenario of resting starters was in 2019, when Baltimore was the AFC's top seed. Harbaugh chose to place Jackson and six other starters in the regular season finale that year.
After that long layoff in 2019, Baltimore looked rusty after a surprising 28-12 loss to the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round. The Ravens were tied for a season-low in points, and Jackson was 31 of 59 (52.5%) for 365 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
“It's a different team, different circumstances, different everything except the record was about the same and the bye,” Harbaugh said. “I remember the experience and the decisions we made [in 2019], but the decisions we made were made for specific reasons. We thought they were the right decisions.
“As to what contributed to us not playing our best football that day, it's really hard to say what the cause and effect was. We didn't go out and do it. And I think that’s great.” I’ll benefit the most from it.
There are nine players left on Baltimore's current 53-man roster who were there in the 2019 playoff loss, the last time the Ravens hosted a playoff game.
“This learning experience helped us overcome so many things to get where we are,” Ravens offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley said. “So we know where we still have to go and that memory will always stay with us.”
Jackson is the odds-on favorite to win his second NFL MVP award after leading Baltimore to six straight wins and an NFL-best 13-3 record. If Jackson isn't in the starting lineup, the Ravens would likely turn to backup Tyler Huntley.