Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said last week that he expects quarterback Lamar Jackson to return to action after the team’s Week 7 bye, but he wasn’t on the field for the team’s first practice since returning to work.
Multiple reporters at Monday’s practice shared that Jackson remains off the field. Jackson missed the last two games with a hamstring injury he suffered against the Chiefs on September 28.
Cooper Rush started both of those games and the two losses sent the Ravens into the bye with a 1-5 record.
While Jackson is still out, the Ravens did get some players back on the field. Linebacker Roquan Smith and cornerback Chidobe Awuzie were both practicing after missing time with hamstring injuries.
The Ravens will not issue their first injury report for this week’s game against the Bears until Wednesday, so official word on participation levels will not come until that day’s session is complete.
The Bears won their fourth consecutive game on Sunday to improve their record to 4-2. The Ravens licked their wounds during their bye week, nursing a 1-5 record and hoping to reverse a four-game losing streak.
The betting odds, however, suggest that the Ravens aren’t as bad as their record would suggest, and the Bears aren’t as good.
Baltimore is a 6.5-point favorite at home against Chicago on Sunday.
The biggest reason for optimism that the Ravens will turn things around is that they should be healthier. They’ve had severeal key players out, most notably quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is expected to be back against the Bears. Jackson missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, and the Ravens lost those two games by a combined score of 61-13. The Ravens’ record isn’t good, but their roster, when healthy, is talented.
After the Bears, the Ravens are heading into an easy schedule, facing the Dolphins, Vikings, Browns, Jets and Bengals in their next five games. The Ravens could go on a run, starting on Sunday. The betting odds say they will.
The Bears haven’t had a true franchise quarterback since Sid Luckman. They possibly have one in Caleb Williams.
Through five games, Williams has 1,179 receiving yards. That’s 235.8 per game. Multiplied that by 17 (carry the one), that projects to 4,008 yards.
If Williams gets there, he’ll be the first quarterback in Bears franchise history to throw for 4,000 or more yards in a season.
The current single-season leader for Chicago isn’t Jay Cutler but Erik Kramer. In 1995, Kramer threw for 3,838 yards.
The Bears are the only team to never have a 4,000-yard passer. It has happened 233 times in NFL history. The first player to do it was Joe Namath, who threw for 4,007 yards with the Jets in 1967.
The Bears released defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon, the team announced Friday.
It indicates defensive end Austin Booker is ready to return from injured reserve. Booker was a full participant in all three practices this week as he works his way back from a knee injury.
The Bears ruled out kicker Cairo Santos (thigh) and linebacker Noah Sewell (concussion) for Sunday’s game. Jake Moody will serve as the team’s kicker again this week after hitting the game-winner last week against Washington.
Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (knee), running back D’Andre Swift (groin), running back Travis Homer (calf) and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (knee) are questionable. Homer and Ogbongbemiga remain on injured reserve.
Kpassagnon played four games, totaling five tackles and a sack.
Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has spent most of his NFL coaching career in New Orleans, but he said on Thursday that neither that history nor the way his time with the Saints ended will be on his mind this weekend.
Allen started his second stint with the Saints as their defensive coordinator in 2015 and moved up to the head coaching job when Sean Payton left the team after the 2021 season. Allen wasn’t able to replicate Payton’s success, however, and got fired after opening last season with a 2-7 record.
On Thursday, Allen said “I don’t think I’m going to go there” when asked about what went awry for the team last season and said he’ll be keeping his mind on Sunday’s game between his new team and his old one.
“A lot of good experiences, a lot of good people, a lot of wins,” Allen said, via Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press. “We were a part of a lot of success there. I’ve got fond memories of it, but this week is really all about let’s focus on the football. This is going to be about the players on the field, Bears versus the Saints, those guys will really determine the outcome of the game.”
The Bears rank 27th in points allowed and 26th in yards allowed, but Allen’s unit has done a good job of forcing turnovers. The Bears are second in the league with 12 takeaways and their plus-10 turnover differential in the last three games has helped fuel the three-game winning streak they hope to extend against the Saints.
