Lamar Jackson Ruled Out at Cleveland as Tyler Huntley Starts Again
Lamar Jackson is out with a left ankle sprain for the Ravens' game at Cleveland on 18 October, and Tyler Huntley starts again.
Per ESPN, the Baltimore Ravens have ruled Lamar Jackson out of their visit to Cleveland on 18 October with a left ankle sprain, and Tyler Huntley starts again. Huntley has won his past three starts as a fill-in, and Baltimore is 4-1 atop the AFC North, per ESPN.
The injury and the ruling
Per ESPN, Jackson sprained his left ankle on the final play of the first half of the Ravens’ Week 4 win over the Titans on 4 October. He has missed all three practices this week, and the Browns game will be the second he has missed, ESPN reports. Head coach Jesse Minter announced the decision on 16 October, per ESPN.
On 5 October Minter had said he did not think the injury would be long term, adding, “We will see what happens,” per ESPN. His line on this week’s change was short: “We won’t bat an eye with Snoop being in there.”
Huntley’s fill-in form
Huntley’s three wins as a fill-in include a 30-23 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons on a Sunday night, in which he scored the winning 1-yard sneak, per ESPN. Per NBC Sports, he threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns in that game and ran for a touchdown as well.
Per ESPN, he has also thrown four touchdown passes and no interceptions in his last three games without Jackson.
What the longer numbers show
Per ESPN, Huntley has the NFL’s highest QBR (79.7) and highest completion rate (77.8%) among starters with at least three starts since the start of the 2025 season.
The opponent
Pacy's data has the Browns winning two of their last three: 21-18 at home to the Carolina Panthers on 27 September and 27-24 at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers on 2 October, before a 12-17 defeat at the New York Jets on 11 October. Baltimore's last three in the same data are all wins, including 34-31 at the Dallas Cowboys and 24-18 at home to the Titans.
Pacy's team stats set the two offences side by side:
| Per game (Pacy's team stats) | Baltimore Ravens | Cleveland Browns |
|---|---|---|
| Points scored | 29.2 | 18.6 |
| Points allowed | 23.8 | 22.4 |
| Total yards | 410.6 | 296.2 |
| Passing yards | 246.2 | 202.0 |
| Rushing yards | 164.4 | 94.2 |
| Yards allowed | 340.0 | 357.2 |
Pacy's standings have Baltimore at 4-1, with Cleveland and Pittsburgh both 3-2. Among the season leaders in Pacy's data, Deshaun Watson has 1,010 yards for Cleveland and Mason Graham four sacks, while Jackson has 967 yards for Baltimore. Cleveland's other leaders include Denzel Boston with 330 yards, Quinshon Judkins with 221 and Carson Schwesinger with 43 total tackles. The two pass defences are close, allowing 238.0 yards per game for Baltimore and 239.8 for Cleveland.
Derrick Henry, per ESPN, put the job plainly: “Our job is just to hold it down until he gets back.”
What to watch
The ground game is the clearest mismatch in Pacy's figures: the Ravens run for 164.4 yards per game, and the Browns allow 117.4 on the ground. Cleveland's own running game averages 94.2 yards against a Baltimore defence that allows 102.0.