With or without Lamar Jackson, this weekend always felt like a last stand of sorts for the Baltimore Ravens.
Fresh off an open date — and with the roster a lot healthier than it was earlier this month — the Ravens host the Chicago Bears on Sunday. At 1-5, Baltimore is already in quite a hole, but after Chicago the schedule eases up significantly. The question is: At what point might it be too late?
“The bye week was great," center Tyler Linderbaum said. "A good reset, good opportunity to get guys healthy and a good opportunity to make a run and go 12-5.”
Just getting to 2-5 won't necessarily be easy. The Bears (4-2) arrive on a four-game winning streak, but after that the Ravens face Miami (1-6), Minnesota (3-4), Cleveland (2-5), the New York Jets (0-7) and Cincinnati (3-4). There's a chance to make a run if Baltimore can just win one game to start it.
But the Ravens won't have Jackson back just yet. He practiced this week but was ruled out Saturday.
“It’s really not what I have to see. It’s the player that really has to feel comfortable going out there and putting themselves in position to play,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said Thursday. “He says he’s ready to go, I’m ready to go. I feel great. Any great player that says they want to play, I’m all-in. It’s up to him.”
The Bears are one of only three teams Jackson has never played against. The other two are the Ravens (obviously) and the Green Bay Packers. Jackson was ill the previous time Baltimore faced Chicago, in 2021.
“We'll approach it that he's starting for them,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said, well before the final word came on Jackson's status. “That's our starting point.”
The Bears have gotten huge contributions from their running game since their Week 5 bye, particularly from D'Andre Swift.
The 2023 Pro Bowler has run for 232 yards and a touchdown in that two-game span to go with 81 yards receiving and a TD catch. He went off against New Orleans last week, running for a season-high 124 yards and a score.
Rookie Kyle Monangai added a career-high 81 yards and a touchdown, and Chicago racked up a season-best 222 yards on the ground.
“A lot of times you go execute those base things that go on within football, steps and hand placement when it comes to blocking and those type of things, and tracks and landmarks and wide receiver perimeter blocking,” quarterback Caleb Williams said. “When you have all that start to hit and click, and a lot of times that's just the base things, it's not even the scheme or anything. You do those things, you can positively affect the team on the ground. I think we've done a good job with that the past two weeks.”
This will be the first time Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith faces Chicago since the Bears traded him to Baltimore during the 2022 season. He was an All-Pro that season and then twice more since.
Chicago did get a second-round pick in the deal, which the Bears used to select Gervon Dexter, now one of their starters on the defensive line.
The Bears lead the NFL with 16 takeaways, and all but one have come in the past four games. They've come away with at least three turnovers in each of those outings.
Chicago hasn't done that in five consecutive games in a single season since 1979. The Bears did it in six straight that season.
The Ravens are near the bottom of the NFL in turnover margin at minus-7. Baltimore has just three takeaways on the season. Only the New York Jets (one) have fewer.
Several other Ravens who were dealing with injuries before the open date are expected to play against Chicago. That includes Smith (hamstring), tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle) and fullback Patrick Ricard (calf).
With Jackson out, Tyler Huntley guided Baltimore to a 16-13 win at Chicago in 2021. Andy Dalton and Justin Fields played quarterback for the Bears.
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AP Sports Writer Andrew Seligman contributed to this report.
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