ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Lamar Jackson’s first game in 28 days lasted just one play.
The Ravens’ star quarterback injured his right thumb on the offense’s first snap of Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium.
After Buffalo marched down the field to take a 7-0 lead on the game’s opening possession, Jackson faked a handoff to Derrick Henry, and as he tried to throw to receiver Zay Flowers, the two-time Most Valuable Player’s right throwing hand struck Bills outside linebacker Greg Rousseau’s arm.
Jackson immediately jogged to the sideline, pointing to the injury, and Ravens head athletic trainer Adrian Dixon quickly wrapped the injured thumb as the two left the field.
After initially listing Jackson as questionable to return, the team promptly ruled him out. Jackson emerged from the locker room early in the second half in street clothes, wearing a cast on his right hand.
After the game, Ravens coach Jesse Minter said Jackson will undergo surgery and be placed on injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least the next four games. Asked if the injury could be season-ending, Minter said “potentially.”
“It’s a tough deal,” Minter said, declining to provide specifics on the injury. “When it happened, I think at the time you’re just hoping maybe it’s something small. I think pretty quickly kinda realized what had happened.”
Backup Tyler “Snoop” Huntley took over for Jackson, but he lasted just three more possessions before suffering a toe injury and being ruled out just before the start of the second half with Baltimore trailing 16-7.
Minter did not have an update on Huntley’s status, but the backup left the locker room with a significant limp.
Undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano, the emergency third quarterback, stepped in midway through the second quarter and helped lead a drive that ended with a missed 34-yard field goal attempt by Tyler Loop.
Fagnano took a lower-body hit from Bills defensive lineman Ed Oliver early in the third quarter, and officials flagged the play for roughing the passer. Fagnano was slow to get up and initially appeared hobbled, but he remained in the game.
Jackson’s latest injury comes after he suffered a left ankle sprain halfway through Baltimore’s Week 4 win over the Tennessee Titans. He missed the rest of that game and the three that followed.
Baltimore (4-4) went 1-2 during that span.
Now they’ll have to navigate at least the next four games, if not the season, without Jackson once again.
“We’ll do everything in our power to keep rolling, to keep this thing going, to get it back on the right side,” Minter said. “With whatever that looks like.”