Lamar Jackson's thumb injury ends on first snap back
Lamar Jackson injured his thumb on his first snap back from an ankle sprain, and ESPN reports he will need surgery and is headed to injured reserve.
Why Lamar Jackson's return lasted one snap
Lamar Jackson injured his thumb on his first snap back from a high ankle sprain, and ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the two-time MVP will need surgery and could be headed to injured reserve. Jackson had missed three and a half games with the ankle sprain before returning to face the Bills in Buffalo, and what was billed as the most anticipated game of the Sunday slate turned into a one-sided loss almost immediately.
Backup Tyler Huntley then suffered a toe injury of his own and could not return either, which left rookie free agent Joe Fagnano to play the final 38 snaps. Fagnano fumbled away Baltimore's third and final turnover of the day, and the Bills closed out a 36-10 win. Ravens coach Jesse Minter said afterward he is not sure whether the thumb injury will end Jackson's season.
Cardinals rally past Cowboys in overtime
Arizona beat Dallas 33-30 in overtime, with Chad Ryland kicking the winning field goal after a missed extra point forced the extra period. The Cardinals needed a wild rally to get there, one of two overtime finishes on an afternoon that also saw eight teams score 30 or more points and one team win in a way the league had not seen since the early 1970s, according to ESPN's breakdown of the slate.
Denver added its own dramatic comeback win in the same afternoon window, part of what ESPN called a far wilder Sunday than the schedule looked on paper heading into the day.
What else made Week 8 wild
The same ESPN column flagged Tampa Bay winning despite going 0-for-3 in one category, Kansas City blowing a double-digit lead, Tennessee pushing Cincinnati to the brink, and surprising workloads for Jeanty and Taylor as other threads from the Sunday slate. The piece promised a full breakdown of big plays, bad decisions and quarterback benchings across the day.
None of those storylines carried the weight of what happened in Buffalo, though. Jackson's exit turned a game many expected to be the best of the week into the moment that will shape the rest of Baltimore's season.
What's next for the Ravens
Baltimore sits at 4-4, in last place in a competitive AFC North, with the trade deadline about a week away. Even assuming Jackson could return later this season, the Ravens find themselves in a compromised spot entering the stretch run. General manager Eric DeCosta already traded a future second-round pick for Cam Jurgens in October and had tried to deal two first-round picks for Maxx Crosby in the offseason before rescinding that trade after Crosby's physical.
Trey Hendrickson, brought in as the de facto Crosby replacement, has two sacks in six games. With Jackson needing thumb surgery and Huntley also hurt, DeCosta and Minter now face both short-term and long-term decisions about whether this roster can stay afloat in the playoff picture.
Facts per ESPN, ESPN box score, ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.