Lamar Jackson headed to IR after thumb injury as Ravens fall to Bills

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Ravens’ 36-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills may prove far more costly than another mark in the loss column.

Lamar Jackson injured his right thumb on Baltimore’s first offensive snap and will undergo surgery and be placed on injured reserve, Ravens head coach Jesse Minter said after the game.

Jackson had already missed the previous three and a half games before returning against Buffalo. His return lasted just one play.

After Buffalo opened the game with a 10-play, 60-yard drive capped by Josh Allen’s fourth-and-goal quarterback sneak, Jackson took the field with the Ravens trailing 7-0.

On Baltimore’s first snap, Jackson dropped back on play action and was hit as he threw an incomplete pass. Jackson immediately looked at his hand before going to the sideline and eventually the locker room.

The Ravens initially listed him as questionable to return with a right thumb injury before ruling him out roughly 15 minutes later.

"You know, when you lose your quarterback early, we lost him on the first play. That'll be a surgery deal, he'll go to IR," Minter said. "That's a tough deal."

When asked whether Jackson could be out for the remainder of the season, Minter said, "Potentially, but we'll see where it's at."

Jackson wasn’t the Ravens’ only quarterback to go down.

Tyler Huntley replaced Jackson but suffered a right toe injury late in the first quarter and was also eventually ruled out. That forced undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano into his NFL regular-season debut.

Fagnano completed a 15-yard pass to fellow rookie Josh Cuevas on his first NFL snap.

Baltimore’s defense provided the Ravens with opportunities to stay in the game despite the injuries on offense.

With Buffalo up 10-0, a Josh Allen pass intended for Jackson Hawes was knocked into the air and intercepted by Broderick Washington Jr. It was the first interception of Washington’s career.

Two plays later, Derrick Henry scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to cut Buffalo’s lead to 10-7.

The Bills added a field goal after Huntley was sacked by Cole Bishop and fumbled, with Kaleb Elarms-Orr recovering for Buffalo.

Baltimore had an opportunity to answer after a strong kickoff return by Rasheen Ali, but Tyler Loop’s 34-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright.

The Ravens defense came up with another turnover before halftime. Allen connected with former Maryland Terrapin DJ Moore, but Roquan Smith punched the ball free and T.J. Tampa, fresh off injured reserve, recovered it. Moore was initially ruled down, but replay confirmed the fumble.

Baltimore was unable to capitalize. Fagnano’s pass intended for Zay Flowers was tipped and intercepted by Buffalo’s Davidson Igbinosun. The Bills turned the turnover into a field goal and took a 16-7 lead into halftime.

Baltimore opened the second half with a short field goal to pull within six, but Buffalo quickly responded.

Allen found Moore for a 49-yard gain before James Cook scored untouched from 5 yards out to extend the Bills' lead to 23-10.

The Ravens struggled to generate offense from there. Buffalo added an 11-yard Allen-to-Moore touchdown early in the fourth quarter and another touchdown as the Bills pulled away for a 36-10 victory.

The loss dropped Baltimore to 4-4 and marked its third straight defeat, leaving the Ravens in last place in the division near the halfway point of the season.

Now Baltimore faces a difficult turnaround without knowing when or if its star quarterback will return this season.

Minter did not have an immediate update on Huntley’s toe injury after the game. The Ravens host the 5-2 Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night, potentially putting Fagnano in position to make the first NFL start of his career.

"I thought Joe came in, to his credit, not really getting a lot of reps in preparation, hung in there, did some good stuff," Minter said. "It's a short week. It's an opportunity again to stick together, work together, come together, and we'll figure out what we have, what we have available, and we'll try to put the best plan out there for this short week."

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.