Nov 21, 2025
3 min read
Todd Munken and the players talk about red zone struggles.Isaiah said, "The time has come."
When Laar Jackson entered the league, experts questioned whether his hybrid style would make him injury-prone.
Jackson's ability to dodge big shots on the run proved that wrong, and this season is further proof of that.Jackson runs less and gets hurt more.
Rushing at the lowest rate of his NFL career, Jackson has the same number of sacks (23) in seven games this season as he did last year.When a reporter informed him of that figure on Thursday, Jackson was surprised.
"I'll have to talk to my offensive line about that," Jackson said with a smile.
"I mean, it's part of football. You know, sometimes guys want to get you, sometimes they don't. Like I said, I'm going to talk to my guys about it. Maybe they're not going to like it. You [tell] me it's 23 sacks, they're not going to like it."
Jackson has missed Wednesday practices the past two weeks and said it will "probably" be his new normal this season as he manages his body.Last week, he hurt his knee during a game in Minnesota.This week, he was listed with a foot problem.
He returned to full practice both times the next day and appeared to be back on track for Sunday's game, this time against the New York Jets.
"It's just part of football, I guess, but that's good.
"This is the first time I've dealt with, you know, anything like that, like when I'm playing. So, I mean, we have great coaches and stuff like that. Our team is good. So, like I said, I'm good."
There's no doubt that Jackson is taking more, and possibly even bigger, hits this season.He took a particularly big hit on a Vikings sack on outside linebacker Dallas Turner that resulted in a 15-yard penalty and $17,000 as Turner threw his entire body weight onto Jackson's 205-pound frame.
"He got me there. I wasn't expecting it at all," Jackson said."But I'm glad we got that call. He put all his weight on me."
Jackson worked extensively during the 2022 offseason to better prepare himself physically for the NFL's punishment.He lost weight before last season, felt good and averaged a league-high 6.6 yards per carry.Jackson maintained the same weight this season but endured more punishment.
The Ravens' offensive line takes a lot of pride in protecting Jackson, and it has a tough job Sunday in Cleveland against the NFL's Top Pass Rusher, Myles Garrett, and an offensive Browns defense that racked up five sacks.
"There's always going to be improvements where you can come out of the game," middle linebacker Tyler Linderbaum said. [The Browns have] a really good defense. Really good defense, sometimes teams get theirs. And you just have to try to limit as many sacks as possible.As a unit, you strive to limit as many sacks as possible. But that's part of the game. There's a lot of things that go into the sack. But that's not the deciding factor in the outcome of the game."
Part of the reason for the increase in sacks is that Jackson is averaging a low 5.6 attempts.While Jackson is adept at avoiding big hits while scrambling, he admits that he takes more penalties as a pocket passer where he can only cover so much.
"I don't think I hit like no one hit when I was running, but I said" he said "he was in the trap."
Jackson confident in his ability to run 'when my number is called'
Even though Jackson's rushing rate (32.3) is down, he is confident that he can still leave opponents in the country if he wants to.
Jackson ducked to avoid being caught any further.
"I don't remember being caught in the league though," said Jackson.
The Ravens have come up with the majority of the number of intended tackles, which has been a hallmark of Greg Roman's offense, and they haven't relied on the read currency this season.
Derrick Henry is tied for 7th in the league with 166, while Keaton Mitchell (21 carries) and Justise Hill (18) have as many combined carries as Jackson (39).Jackson said he doesn't think there's a missing element.
"We have great running backs. You know, we have Derrick Henry, that's what we picked him for," Jackson said."We have a guy like Derrick Henry who came here [and] ran for about 1,500 yards, 1,800, whatever. Justice Hill, Keaton Mitchell, Rasheen Ali – we have all these great running backs. So when they call my number, we'll see."
Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken said Jackson's injuries have not affected his game plans.
Monken and players deal with red zone struggles
After leading the league in red zone touchdown percentage last season, the Ravens rank 28th in that category this year.
They scored touchdowns 47.2% of the time, and that was a sore point in back-to-back games in Minnesota and Cleveland.
Monken said Thursday that improving the offense in the red zone is a big focus in practice this year, just as it was a year ago.
"There's a lot of things we can do better. Like everything we do offensively, it starts with me saying, 'How can we plan it better, call it better, execute it better?' That's all. There's no one specific thing, just like last year there wasn't one specific thing that made us so successful. It was a combination of everything," Monken said.
"I won't argue. It should be better in the red zone, but the most important thing - like any week - is that we have elite rain."
Henry said the Ravens need to make a better run game, and Linderbaum also pointed to Baltimore's struggles in tight ends as part of the problem.
“I think to be successful in the red zone you have to be able to run the football effectively, which I don't think we were able to do,” Linderbaum said.he said."So it all starts with us, the O-line, and being able to block better and put guys in better positions to score. We definitely have the ability to do that."
Is the hack game coming soon?It could be
Tight end Isaiah probably had the fourth-most receiving yards (477) and many of the offense's signature plays last season.
This year, he has more than two and 20 yards per game once.
After missing most of training camp and the first three games of the season due to a broken bone in his foot that required surgery, the fourth-year tight end has yet to have a breakout performance in his first seven games.
“We have other tight ends, other guys ate, you know, but he came along while the season [was] going,” Jackson said."He was out for the first few weeks, but his time has come."
