OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens understand what they're getting in acquiring veteran journeyman quarterback Jacoby Brissett. But does Brissett realize the situation he's coming into with the Ravens?
The Ravens officially finalized their trade with the Arizona Cardinals on Friday by sending a 2027 fifth-round pick and a 2028 seventh-rounder in exchange for Brissett and a 2027 fourth-round selection. Baltimore knows it's adding an experienced starting-caliber quarterback who has a track record of completing over 60% of his passes and directing a middle-of-the-road offense.
For Brissett, he's not just coming into a situation where he's trying to keep the Ravens' season afloat in case an injured Lamar Jackson (right thumb) can return by the end of the season. Brissett is taking over an offense that looks broken, from the lack of discipline to poor blocking to the historic struggles to score.
The Ravens (4-5) have failed to score more than 14 points in four straight games, which is a team record in futility. This didn't happen when Baltimore went through a five-game touchdown drought in 2000. This didn't happen when first-round quarterback Kyle Boller turned out to be a bust in 2003. This didn't happen in 2015 when the Ravens started Matt Schaub, Jimmy Clausen and Ryan Mallett after Joe Flacco suffered a season-ending knee injury.
The players aren't blaming the loss of Jackson for the offensive flop, even though the lack of a two-time NFL MVP has certainly pulled the plug on Baltimore's explosiveness. It hasn't helped that top backup Tyler "Snoop" Huntley is out for the season with a turf toe injury.
The arrival of Brissett brings hope but also realistic expectations.
"I think that'll bode well for us," Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said after Thursday night's 33-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. "But there's a lot of things that we need to fix on our end. I don't think anyone can just come in and fix all the problems."
Let's take a look at the problems:
Pre-snap penalties
It really feels like the Ravens' offense leads the league in hurting itself. With four false-start penalties Thursday, Baltimore has now been flagged for false starts 24 times this season, the most in the league.
The Ravens already have more false-start penalties through nine games this season than they did in all 17 games last season (19 false starts). Part of the problem could be the constant changes due to injuries. Baltimore has had three different starting centers and three different starting quarterbacks.
"It's very frustrating, and again, it's just ownership," Ravens coach Jesse Minter said. "It's ownership of players and coaches [when] it keeps happening, [but] it's a ninth game, so there's no, 'We haven't done this, we haven't done that or whatever. We've got a new guy in there [at quarterback].' He's been here all season [and] been here all training camp. So, the pre-snap penalties are unacceptable."
Stanley tops the Ravens with seven false starts, which is more than the tallies of seven teams. The others who have committed multiple false starts are: tight end Mark Andrews (six), guard John Simpson (five) and offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten (five).
"I just have to be better," Stanley said. "I'm trying to get off the ball as soon as I hear the quarterback, but that's too fast, so I need to hone that back a little bit and maybe come off slower. But whatever the case, we have to be on the ball. We can't afford to have pre-snap penalties. They stall drives and take away points from us."
Pressure on the quarterback
The frustration with the offensive line boiled over Thursday night, when offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford spiked his tablet while yelling at his players on the sideline.
"He was fired up about the little things that we mess up," said Ravens guard Olaivavega Ioane, the team's rookie first-round pick. "You look at it the wrong way, and you think that's a problem. That's not a problem. Like, he was doing the right thing. Sometimes it's the right thing to be a little aggressive with it. That's just what everybody needs, and with the way the game went, it's what we needed."
The Ravens' offensive linemen have taken it personally after watching their top two quarterbacks leave with injuries in the first half of Sunday's loss at Buffalo. Jackson injured his right thumb when he was attempting to pass and his hand hit Bills outside linebacker Greg Rousseau, who had gotten too much penetration on the right side. Then, Huntley hurt his toe after Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver twisted him to the ground after he got rid of the ball.
Baltimore's pressure rate allowed is 36%, which ranks 24th in the NFL. It's also the third-worst rate for the Ravens since pressure rate began getting tracked in 2009.
Brissett needs better play out of Baltimore's offensive line. Since the start of the 2025 season, Brissett has been sacked the fifth-most times (62) in the league.
"We know it's not our standard, and all the guys in the room know that," Ioane said. "I'll be the first one to say it. You don't have to hear it from [anybody] else. We already know ourselves. We take a lot of pride in going out there and protecting the quarterback. Some games it doesn't go like that, but I have big faith in our O-line, and I still do. The guys that went out there and played, they did their job to the best of their ability, and that's all there is to it."
Lack of scoring
With a healthy Jackson, the Ravens averaged 29 points in the first four games, which ranked sixth in the NFL. Without Jackson, Baltimore's scoring has plummeted to 14.6 points over the last five games, which is 30th over that span.
Are the struggles simply the result of the Ravens missing Jackson?
"Lamar is incredible. He is obviously going to be sorely missed," Andrews said. "He's such a special player and a leader on this team, and has been for a long, long time. But again, we have guys that are going to step up. We have so many great players on this team, and we deserve to put out a better product because we have such talented players and coaches and guys that really want to get this thing going."
One of the reasons the Ravens have lost four straight and fallen into last place in the AFC North is that Baltimore's other star players have not stepped up. Without Jackson over the last five games, running back Derrick Henry is averaging 63 yards rushing (15th during that stretch) and wide receiver Zay Flowers has averaged 52.3 yards receiving (42nd).
Jackson, who was placed on injured reserve before Thursday's game, is eligible to be activated for the Dec. 13 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the next three games without Jackson, Brissett will look to turn around the Ravens against defenses that all rank in the bottom half of the league in points allowed: Los Angeles Chargers (20th), Carolina Panthers (28th) and Houston Texans (18th).
"We need all hands on deck," Henry said. "I feel like [Brissett] can come in and help us. We'll be excited to have him, and we'll see where it goes."