The Baltimore Ravens will be looking to make a statement when they take on Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round of the 2025 NFL playoffs. However, John Harbaugh recently let Lamar Jackson know the team will suffer a significant absence on offense.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Harbaugh confirmed wide receiver Zay Flowers will not play for the Ravens against the Steelers on Saturday, which means Jackson will miss a primary weapon to start the postseason.
“Zay Flowers is not gonna be able to make it to the game this week, so he’ll get started again next week, we’ll move forward with the guys we have, and we’re excited about the guys we have, which is everybody else,” Harbaugh said.
Zay Flowers, a huge loss for Jackson’s Ravens vs. Steelers
Flowers, 24, picked up a right knee injury during the 2024 NFL regular season finale against the Cleveland Browns. In his lone reception of the Week 18 game at the start of the second quarter, Flowers fell to the ground after catching a short pass and was unable to come back.
Needless to say, this is a huge blow for Jackson as Flowers played an instrumental role on the Ravens’ offense this season. The second-year player, in fact, became the first wide receiver in franchise history to be selected to the Pro Bowl in 2024.
Flowers has been a key target for Jackson throughout the regular season, recording 74 catches for 1,059 yards with four touchdowns. In addition, he produced 56 rushing yards on nine carries.
With Flowers out, Rashod Bateman is expected to step up as the Ravens’ WR1 against the Steelers. The former first-round pick boasts 45 receptions for 756 yards with nine touchdowns in the 2024 NFL season.
Ravens start quest for deep playoff run against a familiar foe in Tomlin’s Steelers
It will be interesting to see how Jackson and the Ravens respond to Flowers’ absence in such a crucial game, considering how challenging Tomlin‘s team proved to be for Baltimore in recent times: Pittsburgh won eight of the last 10 times they faced each other.
The Ravens lost to the Steelers by two points the first time they met this year but redeemed themselves with a 34-17 win in Baltimore to clinch a playoff berth and prevent Tomlin’s side from securing the AFC North.
That victory propelled Harbaugh’s men to win the division with consecutive wins in the final weeks of the 2024 NFL regular season. The Steelers, on the other hand, head into the playoffs aiming to end a four-game losing streak.
Baltimore will get home-field advantage to take on its division rivals at the start of the playoffs, but we’ll have to wait and see whether that factor proves enough with Flowers on the sidelines.