Jackson Returns Sunday. The Deficit Is Bigger Than Three Games.

Lamar Jackson is active and will start against Buffalo, ending a three-game absence from a high ankle sprain he suffered in Week 4 against Tennessee. He said he's ready to go. The Ravens are 4–3, fourth in the AFC North, a game back of the division lead and half a game from the wild card line. The math still works. The roster is another matter.

The three games Jackson missed did not create Baltimore's problems — they exposed them. The defense allowed 35 points to Cincinnati with a backup quarterback under center. Tavius Robinson is on injured reserve. Rookie guard Olaivavega Ioane, who I noted last week was already out with an MCL sprain, will not play Sunday either. The offensive line Baltimore spent the offseason rebuilding is already patched together. Derrick Henry has 579 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in seven games and remains the most reliable thing on this roster, but he cannot fix a secondary that has been a liability all season, and he cannot manufacture receiving options where there are none.

Jackson's return matters — of course it does. His numbers before the ankle gave out were clean: 967 yards, six touchdowns, one interception in four games. But he's coming back to a team that went 0–3 without him partly because of a defense that has no real depth at linebacker, a secondary still sorting itself out, and a pass-catching group that leans heavily on Mark Andrews. Zay Flowers is active. Whether he's actually Zay Flowers yet is a different question.

Buffalo is a road game, which is at least consistent with where this team has had success — the Ravens are 3–1 away from M&T Bank this year. Jackson's presence stabilizes the offense. What it does not do is fix the edge, the secondary, or the linebacker room. Those problems will be there when he gets back, and they will be there the week after.