Whether the Ravens have any chance at all against the strong Bengals on Wild Card Weekend depends above all on the commitment of their quarterback Lamar Jackson. But he is more uncertain than ever.

It’s going to be a tough battle against the clock for the Baltimore Ravens.

If they want to have any chance at all against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, their star quarterback has to be there.

But Lamar Jackson’s use in the game on Wild Card Weekend is still up in the air. He was also unable to practice on Wednesday.

How long has Jackson been injured?

The 26-year-old suffered an early injury to his left knee in a narrow 10-9 win over the Denver Broncos on Matchday 13. Jackson was sidelined after the first quarter and was replaced by Tyler Huntley.

Since then, the regular passer has not played in a game. In total, he has now missed five complete games for the Ravens.

How serious is the injury?

At first, it was said that the sprained posterior cruciate ligament he suffered against the Broncos was not that serious. The Ravens expected him to miss three games at the most.

Now, however, he will be out two weeks longer than originally expected. So it seems that the injury is more serious than expected.

“The knee had not bent, it looked stable on impact. That may have saved Jackson from a worse injury,” said sports physician Dr Jesse Moore on his YouTube channel.

“Nevertheless, the impact was so violent that a tremendous force was applied to the ACL. How severe the injury is also depends on which parts of the cruciate ligament are affected.”

In the case of a second-degree injury, the downtime would be a little longer than just a few weeks, the medical expert said. Apparently, that is now the case.

What does the Ravens’ coach say?

Shortly after the game against the Broncos, head coach John Harbough had expressed confidence. “It’s a matter of a few days or a few weeks,” he said. “We’ll see if he returns as early as this week. If not, a short time later.”

Much time has passed since then, however, and Harbough’s responses to questions about Jackson have become increasingly tight-lipped.

He made his last detailed comment on the subject last week. “The truth is I really don’t know,” Harbough said when asked about Jackson’s comeback against the Bengals. But he said he knows everyone involved is working as hard as they can on it.

Since then, there have been no specific updates from Harbough.

What do the experts say?

Confidence is still expressed by Adam Shefter of “ESPN”. Jackson still has “a chance to be in his team’s Wild Card Game”.

The colleagues of “NFL Network”, on the other hand, are less optimistic. Mike Garafolo reported that the quarterback “didn’t feel well” when he put weight on his knee.

Ian Rapoport confirmed this impression. “His knee is still not made right. He’s not back to full fitness yet. I would describe his use as uncertain,” he said on the Pat McAfee Show on Monday.

From @NFLTotalAccess: The latest on the Sean Payton sweepstakes, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa, and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson. pic.twitter.com/sxChYh8RtB

– Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2023

Who would replace Jackson?

Nobody could fully replace him. His explosiveness with his legs, as well as his passing, can’t be matched even by the appointed replacement Tyler Huntley.

But even he couldn’t play recently. He missed the last game of the regular season due to a shoulder injury and was replaced by the inexperienced Anthony Brown.

He could not prevent the 16:27 defeat against the Bengals.

Should the Ravens also have to rely on the 24-year-old in the re-match on Sunday Night Game against the recently strong Bengals, their chances of advancing would be even lower than already.