Will the Ravens pull off a surprise without Lamar Jackson?
After Halloween comes NFL Game Day 9, and for the Ravens in particular, the horror continues unabated in our Ravens vs. Jaguars pick. That’s because they’ll once again have to do without their superstar quarterback, Lamar Jackson, for an extended period after he injured his thumb.
As a result, the season could already be over at the halfway point of the regular season for one of the favorites in the 2027 Super Bowl odds. In the odds, the Ravens have already slipped to 7th place, falling even behind the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are quietly establishing themselves as dark horses.
They’re now the favorites in Baltimore as well, even though they’ve often come up empty-handed there. Surprisingly, the bookmakers are even giving them a handicap of up to -9.5 points, which is a hell of a lot. The Ravens rarely get blown out at home (with the exception of the game against the Bengals).
As a result, our prediction for Ravens vs. Jaguars will be split. On the one hand, we also expect the Jags to win; on the other hand, we don’t expect a double-digit lead, since Henry, Andrews, and Flowers are still good enough—even with a backup quarterback—to at least keep up to some extent.
Yes, the Ravens will have a tough time against the Jags with their backup-backup QB Fagnano, but they still have their running game, which averages 133.5 yards per game. This will allow them to keep the game closer than the bookmakers expect, which also makes the odds on the Ravens covering 13.5 Baltimore points a viable bet.
Baltimore Ravens – Jacksonville Jaguars Head-to-Head Record
The Ravens have won three of the last five matchups, though Lamar Jackson was at the helm—that is, on the field as the quarterback—for the last two victories. Still, we wouldn’t count the Ravens out, even though they took a pretty rough beating in Buffalo recently.
The new coaching staff led by Jesse Minter can’t afford to write off the season—or else their jobs are on the line. That means they’ll have to find a defensive strategy that also relies more heavily on stopping the run. This will result in fewer total points scored and a closer game than initially expected.
Baltimore Ravens – Jacksonville Jaguars Pick
There are several things to watch for in this matchup: First, the Ravens will run the ball a lot, which means Henry will get scoring opportunities. Second, this will cause the clock to run down faster, driving down the total points scored.
As a result, the final score often ends up closer than expected, making a bet on Baltimore +9.5 our recommendation for Ravens vs. Jaguars. After all, the Ravens won’t let themselves be humiliated at home two games in a row—no matter who’s starting at quarterback.
In addition to the obligatory TD pick on Henry, we also have a player bet on a Jags player to choose from: a TD pick on Bayshul Tuten. He’s found the end zone twice in each of the past two games and is one of the hottest players in the NFL right now.
