OTL: Ravens Set to Face an Old Friend Once Again

The Baltimore Ravens are on a four-game winning streak, and have the New York Jets coming to town on Sunday. The Ravens will be going against a familiar foe once again as the New York Jets have named Tyrod Taylor the starting quarterback for the battle in Baltimore. Taylor was a Joe Flacco-era backup for the Ravens. You have to give Taylor some credit for hopping around the league and remaining a viable backup plan.

Jets are making the expected QB change, switching to Tyrod Taylor from Justin Fields, per sources, as @DMRussini reported.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 17, 2025

The Jets probably feel that Justin Fields has failed in his attempt to be the answer to their quarterback woes, and that the veteran Taylor can at least make the prescribed throws on schedule. In his action this season Taylor has a passer rating of 73.3 and has thrown three touchdowns and three picks. To me, the Jets feel like the same team no matter who they have under center.

The 2021 QB class is maybe the most disappointing of all time

Mac Jones: backup QB
Trey Lance: backup QB
Zach Wilson: 3rd string QB
Justin Fields: benched
Trevor Lawrence: bad

— BetMGM (@BetMGM) November 17, 2025

Fields had a chance to win the quarterback job in Pittsburgh, but lost out to Russell Wilson. He is on his third stop, further painting his draft class as one of the worst of all-time. The craziest part is how the Jets have managed to be involved with two of these failed quarterbacks. They drafted Zach Wilson number two overall, now they have Fields sitting on their bench. I think the take about this draft class is a bit unfair. I’d say Trevor Lawrence has been in a bad spot, and Mac Jones could have a revitalization of his career after impressing in San Francisco. The Jets surely agree with the take that this crop of QB’s is cursed, though.

The Jets signed Justin Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract in March that fully guaranteed him $20M in 2025 and $10M in 2026.

His benching — which likely would’ve come sooner if Tyrod Taylor were healthy — now sets the stage for bigger QB changes this coming offseason. pic.twitter.com/Vkusmc5MKW

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 17, 2025

What the Jets have to explain though, is why they keep sinking millions and millions of their cap space into misfit quarterbacks. If Fields is truly the problem, the real issue is with the front office. The Jets have been a doomed franchise for a reason.

The biggest thing the Ravens have to worry about is not playing down to the level of their opponent. It didn’t have to look pretty in Cleveland as divisional games are often brutally tough. However, the Ravens have to win with some style points against the Jets, if they truly want to make the Steelers afraid of losing the top spot in the AFC North.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, they just beat the Cincinnati Bengals in a fairly convincing fashion. The Steelers and Bengals do not have a friendly dynamic but the former thorn in the Ravens’ side, Ben Roethlisberger, says that the Ravens are the Steelers’ top rival:

In the video, Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl winner and future Hall of Famer, explained that there was much more intensity in the team’s match-ups with Baltimore. even more so than an even longer rivalry they’ve had in the AFC North, their many battles with the Bengals.

“You know how many times Ray Lewis used to help me up and be like, young fella, I’m about to get you again,” Roethlisberger explained. “That’s respect. That extra stuff is unnecessary. The Bengals-Steelers rivalry is not the same as the Steelers and Ravens.

Many Ravens fans will read this and think, “that didn’t need to be stated, did it?” Ravens vs. Steelers was a Sunday Night Football staple for years in the era of Lewis and Roethlisberger. It felt like a heavyweight championship every time. The rivalry could be sparked to new life as the Steelers managed to knock the suddenly Flacco-led Bengals down a peg. It looks like the AFC North could be decided by the two late-season clashes between Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

The AFC North has been murky territory for all four teams. The Browns are wasting a phenomenal defensive front, the Bengals are without Joe Burrow for a while, the Steelers have had some high-profile clunkers and the Ravens started 1-5. Through it all, the Ravens somehow control their destiny. Look out for the vibes of the previous era. Ravens-Steelers is a very relevant rivalry.

Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers underwent further tests Monday that confirmed he won’t need surgery on his fractured left wrist, sources tell me and @RapSheet.

Rodgers is pushing to play Sunday at Chicago. But doctors must clear him and his status moving forward is TBD. pic.twitter.com/Zp7ChP2tK0

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 18, 2025

Ravens fans will be keeping an eye on the injury updates on Aaron Rodgers, who has a wrist injury. There’s not a lot to go on. It’s certainly been a tough year for AFC North quarterbacks.

Mark Andrews hit 20.09 mph on this play, the fastest speed by any TE on a touchdown this season. pic.twitter.com/Ua0X9BHA4B

— Ravens Nation ð™‡ð™„ð™‘𙀠(@RavenNationLIVE) November 19, 2025

One of the best parts of the Ravens win over the Browns was the chance to hype up Mark Andrews. Andrews went through the toughest of long offseasons and was maligned by fans for his bad moments in the playoffs. All Andrews did in response is handle his business and set some franchise records. Oh yeah, and my boy has wheels! Apparently he hit 20.09 MPH on his first ever rushing touchdown, the fastest speed of his career.

I don’t care if it’s Wednesday. The team can move on to the Jets, I’m still celebrating one of the coolest moments from the best tight end in franchise history.

Lamar Jackson’s reaction to Mark Andrews clutch TD vs the Brownspic.twitter.com/NRJpsQEOOG

— JacksonMuse (@Jackson_muse) November 18, 2025

If watching Pat Ricard and Lamar Jackson celebrate that touchdown doesn’t make you irrationally happy, are you even a Ravens fan?

There’s only a few things that make Lamar Jackson smile from ear-to-ear, and one of them is talking about his guy Mark Andrews #RavensFlock pic.twitter.com/yQNCs0FP5S

— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) November 18, 2025

That’s all I got for you! You are now halfway through the day and it’s halfway through the week. You got this.

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