The Ravens finished the regular season with a 12-5 record, winning the AFC North. Baltimore earned the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoffs, and will host its division rival Pittsburgh in the wild-card round.
The Ravens offense largely runs through quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry. While he tends to not be as featured in the game plan, wide receiver Zay Flowers finished with over 1,000 receiving yards, a rare feat in the run-first Ravens scheme. While it came with some backlash from certain fans thinking he wasn’t deserving, Flowers was named a Pro Bowler this year.
Baltimore needed a win in Week 18 over Cleveland to solidify its division title. The Ravens decided to play its starters, and it did result in a win.
Unfortunately, Flowers was ruled out during the game due to a knee injury. It wasn’t season-ending, but he was considered a long-shot to play in Baltimore’s first playoff game.
Here is the latest update on Flowers’ injury status and what it means for the Ravens.
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Is Zay Flowers playing vs. Steelers in wild-card game?
Flowers wasn’t expected to play in the first round of the playoffs, and head coach John Harbaugh officially ruled him out on Thursday due to his knee injury.
The wide receiver did not practice during the week. Harbaugh did mention that he wide receiver was considered week-to-week, so there is a chance that if the Ravens win, Flowers could suit up next week in the divisional round.
Flowers played against the Steelers twice in the regular season. In the first, he brought in two of his six targets for 39 yards and a touchdown in a loss. Flowers finished with five receptions for 100 yards on eight targets in the rematch, which Baltimore won 34-17. Overall the wideout had 1,059 yards and four touchdowns in the regular season.
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Ravens WR depth chart
| Position | Player Name |
| 1. | Zay Flowers — Out (knee) |
| 2. | Rashod Bateman |
| 3. | Nelson Agholor |
| 4. | Tylan Wallace |
| 5. | Devontez Walker |
With Flowers out, Bateman will be the No. 1 overall wide receiver for Baltimore. He was asked about taking over for Flowers in the offense and said that while the team will miss Flowers’ production, they’re going to miss his “energy and joy on the field.”
Agholor will be a deep threat option for Jackson as his speed should allow him to get overtop the Steelers’ cornerbacks who have struggled. Wallace and Walker have gotten intermittent work this season, but Walker likely has the edge for getting an increased target share with Flowers’ absence.
While Bateman and Agholor could see more looks from Jackson, the real beneficiaries in the offense are going to be the tight ends. Jackson already looks for Mark Andrews as one of his first reads in the offense, knowing that he can trust his tight end to either get open or come down with a contested catch.
Backup tight end Isaiah Likely should see a good increase in targets. He was featured early in the season when Andrews and Jackson weren’t on the same page, but had moved back into his backup role with Andrews getting on track down the stretch of the season. Likely should see a good target increase with Flowers being sidelined and could be the difference maker in the game.
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