The Baltimore Ravens were dealt a major blow on Thursday heading into their wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Ravens have ruled out WR Zay Flowers (knee) for the game.
Flowers injured his right knee in the Ravens’ regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns. After not practicing all week, head coach John Harbaugh made the official announcement on Thursday that Flowers will not play.
While the Steelers bring a four-game losing streak into the wild-card matchup, the loss of Flowers is huge for the Ravens regardless.
In his rookie season in 2023, Flowers had 858 receiving yards and seven total TDs (one rushing). Although Baltimore lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship, Flowers had five catches for 115 yards and a TD. This season, Flowers leads the Ravens with 74 receptions and 1,059 receiving yards. He has four TD catches and became the first Ravens player to make the Pro Bowl as a wide receiver last week.
Something else worth keeping in mind is Baltimore’s postseason struggles with QB Lamar Jackson under center. Jackson is only 2-4 in his career in the playoffs, having completed 57.4 percent of his passes with six passing TDs and six interceptions. Since 2019, the Ravens have only averaged 16 PPG in the playoffs, down from their 27.4 PPG during the regular season, per NFL.com’s Kevin Patra.
Before a 34-17 win over the Steelers on Dec. 21, the Ravens had lost eight of their last nine to their division rivals. However, the Steelers are limping into the playoffs, so this could be a good opportunity for Jackson and the Ravens offense to get the ball rolling.
Still, the absence of Flowers is a huge blow to the passing game as the Ravens look to put a good postseason run together, which has not been common as of late.
