11:38 AM
The Ravens will try to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Huntley will start at quarterback for the crucial game against the Los Angeles Rams after Lamar Jackson was ruled out for a third straight game.
Jackson missed the last two practices of the week due to an ankle injury. He hasn't played since hurting his ankle in December.
The Ravens have lost four in a row and are on the playoff bubble. According to the Football Power Index, if Baltimore wins, it will have a higher chance of making the playoffs. The Ravens' chances of making the playoffs fall to 8% if they lose.
Huntley, who was not drafted out of Utah in 2020, has been a better replacement for Jackson than his record would indicate. He led a game winning fourth-quarter drive in his first start, and nearly rallied Baltimore from a 21-point deficit after taking over for Jackson early in the second quarter in Cleveland.
In his last start, Huntley became the first Ravens player to record multiple touchdown passes and touchdown runs in a game. He was going to start the game in Cincinnati but tested positive for COVID-19 the day before.
Huntley took the first-team reps for Baltimore in the final two practices of the week after being activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list. Josh Johnson, a 35-year-old journeyman who threw for 304 yards and two touchdown in last Sunday's 41-21 loss in Cincinnati, will be Huntley's backup.
Huntley said it was football at the end of the day. We can't ever lose sight of that, and we can't put too much pressure on ourselves because we're just humans playing a little kid's game. I don't pay much attention to it. I just try to do my job, and I think that's what's playing out well for me.
The Ravens have reached the playoffs in each of Jackson's three seasons, and had hopes of him returning this week. Jackson sat out practices on Thursday and Friday because of a bad ankle, his first on-field work in 17 days.
Jackson, who was selected to the Pro Bowl, has been out for four games this season after only missing two of his first 37 starts.
The Ravens are in the playoffs. If the Ravens beat the Rams and the Dolphins lose in Tennessee, they will control their own playoff fate in Week 18.
The Baltimore Ravens could be knocked out of the playoffs in five weeks after having the best record in the conference. The Ravens can be eliminated from the playoffs with a loss and three teams all winning, the Raiders, Dolphins and Bills all winning and the Ravens losing.
