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The snapshot of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on his team’s bench during the second half on Sunday spoke volumes about what he thought of his ankle injury. And what the team thought of the Tennessee Titans.
Jackson sprained his ankle in the first half of this game.
And if you understand what Jackson means to the Ravens – that is to say, everything – you understand that this was supposed to look like a crisis.
It got especially concerning for Ravens fans when the two teams came out of their halftime intermission and Jackson was not warming up even though the Ravens said he was questionable to return.
Tyler Huntley indeed took over and handled Baltimore's quarterback duties the rest of the way.
Oh-Oh.
It sounds like Jackson was dealing with a serious injury.
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Except Jackson was smiling on the sideline. And the team did not rule him out, and coach Jesse Minter didn't sound especially concerned during his post-game press conference.
"Yeah, he was just dealing with a little bit of an ankle," Minter said. "We hope, you know, we don't know enough about it right now."
So what looked like a potentially disastrous injury apparently wasn't that, even though an MRI is scheduled for Monday to evaluate further.
Again, Jackson was smiling. And we come to find out he was capable of returning.
"There were some talks about that," Minter admitted. "So I think, you know, hopefully it's in a good spot."
Jackson was injured but didn't return because he was just being held back.
That's good for the Ravens. And bad for the Titans.
It is good for the Ravens because it suggests this isn't a super serious situation. It's bad for the Titans because it speaks to how opponents view them.
The Ravens, you see, led 24-7 at halftime against coach Robert Saleh's winless, hapless team.
And Minter was content holding back his star quarterback and playing his backup to ride out what he expected to be a win.
"Snoop came in and ran the operation in a way that allowed us to get the win," Minter said. "That's what is most important."
This doesn't mean the Ravens thought they were done playing. Nobody in the NFL assumes that at halftime.
But it does show they believed holding a 17-point lead with one half to play at home – against the Titans – was more than worth saving Jackson from further tweaking his ankle.
And, obviously, they were right.
The Ravens will never admit this and didn't after the game. But, obviously, the caliber of the opponent factors into a decision to play an injured player who might be able to return.
It's part of those "talks" Minter mentioned.
And since the Titans came into this game averaging only 12.3 points per game, the third-worst mark in the NFL, it's logical the Ravens thought their 24 points more than enough if they played to expectations.
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The Titans, by the way, also came into this game with a quarterback in Cam Ward who is under heavy scrutiny and fan criticism. Ward didn't silence the critics by throwing 1 TD pass and 1 INT.
The Titans punted three of the five times they got the football in the second half and scored their only touchdown of the second half with 1:16 left to play.
So the Ravens were able to maintain their AFC North lead without their star quarterback playing in the second half, in which they got shut out.
That says a lot about both teams.
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