Articles by Greg Auman

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Lamar Jackson Returns to Boost the Ravens' Turnaround: 'He Looked Incredible'

The Ravens are back, and Lamar Jackson is leading them again. Five days ago, Baltimore was 1-5 and running out of margin for error as it sought to resurrect their season. After Sunday's win over the Bears and Thursday's 28-6 victory over the Dolphins, they're closer to making that a reality. "We had two games that we needed to win in (five) days, and they were absolute must-wins, both of those two games," coach John Harbaugh said. "For our guys to step up the way they did, and to step out the way they did, and play the kind of football they did with their backs to the wall – on the canvas – and to get back up and do what they did, is commendable. "It just means we’re two games under .500. That’s all it means, but we’re two games under .500. We were four games under .500, so that’s where we’re at." Getting a former MVP back from a month-long absence was every bit the lift they had hoped it would be. His first drive ended in a punt, but his second ended with a fourth-and-goal touchdown pass to tight end Mark Andrews, and he would finish the night with four touchdowns and no interceptions, adding much-needed confidence to everyone around him. "He is a two-time MVP for a reason. He looked incredible tonight," Andrews said. "I know that we are just going to continue to get better and better and better. (With) No. 8 leading the charge, we are a dangerous team." Even the defense was better with Jackson back in place. The Ravens forced two fumbles, as many as they had totaled in their first seven games, and they intercepted a pass from Tua Tagovailoa, their second in five days after one in the first five games. The same unit that had given up 41, 38, 37 and 44 points in losses this season held the Dolphins to two field goals. "It feels great to see Lamar," said linebacker Teddye Buchanan, who was just named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month for October. "Lamar is a guy I've been watching since I was a teenager, a young kid, so to see him and to know that he's our quarterback gives our defense extreme confidence, knowing what offense is going to do. "Yes, it's hard not to feel good when you have Lamar Jackson out there." For onem half Thursday night, it wasn't as obvious. The Ravens had a 14-6 lead, but had only four first downs and were out-gained 226-110 by the Dolphins. The opening drive of the third quarter created some separation, and it started with a third-and-6 play where Jackson scrambled out of the pocket for a 13-yard gain and a first down. The drive ended with a touchdown pass to tight end Charlie Kolar, and the Ravens never looked back. Jackson said he saw an urgency from his teammates that they needed with a 2-5 record and a short week. "It’s do or die, win or go home, and usually, we start off (seasons) winning games," Jackson said. "We never (are) behind, but right now, we’re behind, and we all have to step it up ... Like I said, we’re locked in. We know it’s do or die. You have to go out there and play football. We can't worry about mistakes, because mistakes happen. You’re in the NFL; things like that are going to occur, but we just have to move on and keep doing what we're doing." Only three NFL teams in the last 50 years have gone from 1-5 to making the playoffs, and the AFC North's overall struggles make that historic turnaround a little easier, one win at a time. "It definitely feels better, but 3-5 doesn't sound super great either," fullback Patrick Ricard told me. "But 1-5, yeah, that's bad. I don't know the last time I've been 1-5 playing football. Being 3-5 is definitely better, but we're trying to keep winning." Those five losses all came to defending division champions from last season — the Bills, Lions, Chiefs, Texans and Rams — and they won't face another one this season. There are some difficult opponents ahead, like the Patriots and Packers in Weeks 16 and 17, but for now, they have an easier path ahead, continuing a three-game road trip with the Vikings and Browns, then home against the Jets. "I think that you see everybody's happy when Lamar is out there," said running back Derrick Henry, who rushed for 119 yards on 19 carries. "He gives everybody the opportunity to make plays, and you saw that today. He's going to find you if you’re open. He's going to do whatever he can to get everybody involved. That's the type of player he is. That’s the teammate he is. It speaks when he goes out there and plays." Jackson lost four weeks to a hamstring injury, but he's had the kind of season you'd expect from a two-time MVP, with 14 touchdown passes against a single interception. Baltimore went 1-2 with backup quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Snoop Huntley, but Thursday's win had a familiar swagger with Jackson back at quarterback. The defense's strong night started with safety Alohi Gilman forcing and recovering a Dolphins fumble at the Miami 7-yard line, setting up an easy touchdown for the offense. Gilman, acquired from the Chargers three weeks ago, had only known Jackson as an opponent but said he liked all the same things he saw in him on Thursday much better as a teammate. "It's just the confidence. It’s the approach. It's the mentality that he brings, and it's what he brings to the rest of the offense, as well," Gilman said. "Obviously, he has talent on the field, but the mentality, the confidence he brings around and he elevates everybody. I think that's pretty cool to see playing against him, but (with) firsthand experience being around him, he's just himself. He's a beast, and I'm happy he's my quarterback." Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman. 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Technology

NFL Week 9 Preview: Stats and Storylines for 5 FOX Games

Week 9 is upon us, and the completion of this weekend will mark the midway point of the 2025 NFL season. It's also the final slate of games before Tuesday's trade deadline. Plenty of teams are looking to make a statement before then, including those involved in FOX's five-game slate on Sunday. The slate is highlighted by a divisional clash between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, with Tom Brady, Kevin Burkhardt, Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi on the call. Here are the stats and storylines to watch across FOX's five-game Sunday slate. Justin Jefferson has exactly as many catches (41) as he did after seven games last season. But instead of the five touchdowns he had at this point in 2024, he only has one. The Vikings (3-4) already have more losses than they finished with last season, but everything is still in front of them, with four games still to be played against the Lions and Packers. Can they win at Detroit, with the Lions coming off a bye week and J.J. McCarthy back for his first snaps in seven weeks? The Lions are third in scoring, but let's talk about Jared Goff's accuracy. He had the second-best completion percentage in a 400-pass season ever last year at 72.2%, and he is at 74.9 this season. So, he and Drake Maye (75.2) are challenging Drew Brees' NFL record of 74.4. Minnesota's opponents are completing 68.3% of their passes in 2025, with 11 touchdowns against three interceptions. It could be a long day for the Vikings. The brief excitement of the Panthers being 4-3 took a hit with last week's 40-9 loss to the Bills, and with Bryce Young uncertain with the same ankle injury, it's a tough sell to see them winning in Green Bay. Since the start of 2024, the Panthers have five losses of 29 points or more. No other NFL team has more than two such losses in the same span. If there's a weakness to the Packers' defense, it's that they have only four takeaways in seven games. Only the Jets (1) have fewer turnovers forced. Carolina, on the other hand, has 12 turnovers, one off the NFL high this season. A top-five run defense for Green Bay means the Panthers may throw the ball a lot, and we're not saying they'll lose by 29, but it's a good situation for the Packers to have momentum when they host the Eagles on Monday night in Week 10. Can we talk about J.K. Dobbins? The Broncos running back is third in the NFL with 634 rushing yards, a bargain for Denver on a one-year deal worth just over $2 million. He's on course to rush for 1,347 yards, which puts him on pace to hit all eight yardage-based incentives in his contract to earn an extra $2.5 million. He's a big part of why the Broncos have jumped from 18th in rushing a year ago to third, from 4.14 yards per carry in 2024 to 5.01 this season. The Broncos face a Texans team that has the NFL's No. 1 scoring defense, No. 1 total defense and is fifth against the run. If Houston (3-4) is going to get back into playoff contention, this is a win it needs. The Athletic's playoff simulator has the Texans with an 18% chance to make the playoffs, but it more than doubles to 38% if they can win here and next week vs. the Jaguars. Could the AFC South generate a wild-card team? The division hasn't since the 2020 Colts, but the Jaguars are 4-3 and have the Raiders, Jets and two games against the Titans left on their schedule. Take care of those, and they could go 2-4 in the rest of their games and still be 10-7. The Jaguars are coming off a humbling 35-7 loss to the Rams, though, but the Raiders are coming off a 31-0 loss to the Chiefs. The key here is takeaways. The Jaguars' defense is second in the league with 14, and the Raiders have 12 turnovers, tied for the second-most. Geno Smith has 10 interceptions, and so does the Jaguars' defense. The most surprising aspect of Liam Coen's first year in Jacksonville? He had the NFL's No. 1 third-down offense in Tampa last year, and the Jaguars are 31st, converting just 33%. Flipping it around, the Raiders' offense under Chip Kelly is 31st in scoring, 30th in total offense and 32nd in red zone, so this should be a bounce-back game for Jacksonville. Tyler Shough gets his first NFL start for New Orleans. He's 26, and only the fifth rookie quarterback that old to start an NFL game in the Super Bowl era. The only two to win? Chris Weinke, 29, after a minor-league baseball career in 2001 and Roger Staubach, 27, after four years serving in the U.S. Navy in 1969. The challenge for Shough is that the Saints are 1-7 and average just 16 points per game, and they face a Rams' defense third in the NFL in scoring (16.7 points allowed per game). The Rams have held their last two opponents to seven and three points, so it's tough sledding for the Saints. It's almost mean to set this up, but 17 quarterbacks have made their first NFL start while playing for the Saints, and none of them — not Spencer Rattler, not Ian Book, not Danny Wuerffel — have thrown more than two interceptions in that first NFL start. Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!