Baltimore’s season hinges on Lamar Jackson’s return Thursday night

It’s been nearly a month since Lamar Jackson last suited up for the Baltimore Ravens. Now, the former MVP is set to make his long-awaited return, and fittingly, he’ll do so near his hometown.

Homecoming or heartbreak? Lamar Jackson’s return to Miami could define Ravens’ season

Jackson, a Pompano Beach native, is expected to start Thursday night against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium after missing three straight games with a hamstring injury. For Baltimore, this game could be a significant turning point.

The Ravens have dropped three of their last four games and sit below .500 entering Week 9. Without Jackson, the offense has struggled, averaging just 14.6 points per game during his absence. Head coach John Harbaugh called this week’s matchup “a reset opportunity,” and that’s exactly what it is as they hope to keep their playoff dreams alive.

When healthy, Jackson was producing at an MVP level again, putting up 10 passing touchdowns, one rushing score, and only one interception through his first four games. But despite his undisputed talent, there is one unfortunate truth. Returning from injury has not been historically kind to Jackson. According to NFL Research, Jackson is 3–1 in his career in “return-from-injury” starts, but he’s posted a 71.0 passer rating with six touchdowns and seven interceptions in those games.

Still, if there’s one opponent Jackson has always seemed to thrive against, it’s Miami. In fact, there have been just ten games in NFL history in which a quarterback threw five or more touchdowns with three or fewer incompletions, and two of them belong to Jackson, both against the Dolphins. He’s 3–0 overall against Miami with 12 total touchdowns and just one interception.

This Dolphins defense, however, isn’t quite the same as the one he last faced. Now led by former Ravens assistant Anthony Weaver, Miami has found their footing after a brutal start, holding the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons to just 423 combined yards over the past two weeks. The question is whether that improvement holds up against a quarterback who can torch defenses both through the air and on the ground.

Baltimore’s offense finally appears mostly healthy again. Left tackle Ronnie Stanley is expected to play through an ankle issue, while wide receiver Zay Flowers has emerged as a reliable deep threat.

Thursday night’s stage sets up a Florida homecoming, a struggling Ravens team in need of rejuvenating, and a quarterback still looking to re-join the NFL’s elite.

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