With Opponent Not Yet Decided, Ravens Spend Bye Week Preparing

It's been quite the season for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and the entire team. The 22-year-old MVP favorite is ranked No. 1 among quarterbacks for total touchdowns at 43 and passing touchdowns at 36 during the regular season.

However, individual success isn't enough for Jackson. He's glad the team has this bye week to regroup before pounding the turf postseason.

Dawn White reports:

"It's going to help us a lot. Guys can recover. We've been battling all season. We've went on this run. We've just got to find ourselves some more," Jackson said. "It's going to be tough playoff games, but at M&T Bank Stadium, we've got a great fan base, and we just can't wait to see what's going to go down."

Jackson began practicing again Thursday after having the flu. The team will practice again Friday and then watch AFC playoff games Saturday.

Cornerback Marlon Humphrey says the team is focusing on basics this week without knowing who their opponent will be on Saturday, Jan. 11.

"We're mainly just going against each other and trying to get better with ourselves, not so much focusing on an opponent," Humphrey said. "There's a lot of excitement in the locker room. It's great."

Humphrey, who was selected for the 2020 Pro Bowl, says this isn't the time to rest. It's time to continue working hard to continue getting better.

"A lot of people during the bye week might take the whole week off, but [head coach John] Harbaugh came in and told us, 'It's not really time to rest.' I think [linebacker Matthew] Judon echoed that. It's not time to rest. It's time to get a little bit better," Humphrey said.

Many coaches, including Ravens quarterbacks coach James Urban, believe part of getting a little bit better and continuing the momentum in the playoffs is maintaining a good work ethic.

"You just go work. I really don't know any other way," Urban said. "There's no special formula. The way we got on the roll is just coming to work every day and trying to get better today. Then we'll come in tomorrow, and we'll try to get better tomorrow. There's no magic formula that all of a sudden we're in the playoffs, and you're going to flip a switch and do something you've not done all year long. Every game is important in this league. They just have a different level of importance now."

Assistant special teams coach Randy Brown works with the kicking unit known as the "Wolfpack"--punter Sam Koch, long snapper Morgan Cox and kicker Justin Tucker--which is known to flourish under pressure.

"We change up the routine just a little bit as far as days off because I want their legs fresh, which they have been. This week is no different. They kicked again today and kicked well today. We've known Sam for 12 years, Morgan for 10, and Justin for eight, so we've got it dialed in pretty well of where we're going to go."

Humphrey says the Ravens are managing the stress of being the team everyone is looking to take down.

"We played some good ball in the regular season," Humphrey said. "Going into this regular season, everybody has a fair shot to win it all, so you just have to take it week by week. You don't really get another one, so you've got to win out if you want to get there."

The Ravens hope to win out by concentrating on each postseason game one at a time with the same focus that led them to the No. 1 seed in the AFC.