Lamar Jackson needs surgery on his injured right thumb and will be placed on injured reserve, Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter announced after Sunday's 36-10 defeat at the Buffalo Bills, turning a one-play comeback into a quarterback crisis that will keep the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player out for at least four games.

Key Points

• Lamar Jackson will have surgery on his right thumb and go on injured reserve, Ravens head coach Jesse Minter announced after the 36-10 loss to Buffalo on Sunday, November 1, 2026.
• Under injured-reserve rules, Jackson must miss at least four games, with the earliest possible return in Week 14 against Tampa Bay on December 13, after Baltimore's Week 13 bye.
• Jackson lasted one offensive play on his return from a high ankle sprain, hurting his throwing hand on a pass intended for Zay Flowers when it struck Bills pass rusher Greg Rousseau on the follow-through.
• Backup Tyler Huntley then suffered a toe injury in the second quarter, forcing undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano, the emergency third quarterback, into his NFL regular-season debut.
• Buffalo won 36-10 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park to improve to 6-1, while Baltimore fell to 4-4 with a third straight defeat and just 144 yards of offence.

What Happened

The game unravelled for Baltimore on its very first offensive snap. Jackson, back after missing three games with a high ankle sprain, dropped back to pass on the Ravens' opening drive and threw short right for Zay Flowers. The pass fell incomplete, and Jackson's throwing hand struck Rousseau as he followed through. Jackson immediately grabbed his hand, jogged off the field and headed to the locker room. He was first listed as questionable to return, then ruled out before the end of the first quarter.

Tyler Huntley, who had started the previous three games in Jackson's absence and gone 1-2, took over. He finished the opening drive, a three-and-out, and Buffalo extended its lead to 10-0 on a 56-yard Tyler Bass field goal. Two plays into Baltimore's next drive, Cole Bishop strip-sacked Huntley and Buffalo recovered at the Ravens' 20-yard line. Huntley did not take another snap. He was twisted up on a tackle by Ed Oliver, suffered a toe injury, was listed as questionable and was later ruled out at half-time. He finished 2 of 4 for no yards, with one sack and a lost fumble.

That left Joe Fagnano, a 25-year-old undrafted rookie out of the University of Connecticut who had never played an NFL snap after going undrafted in April, as Baltimore's quarterback. Fagnano entered with 9 minutes 39 seconds left in the first half and became the first emergency third quarterback used by any team this season, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. On his first possession he completed passes of 15 yards to Josh Cuevas and 13 yards to Ja'Kobi Lane to reach the Buffalo 7, only for a nine-yard sack and two incompletions to leave Tyler Loop's 34-yard field-goal attempt hitting the left upright.

Fagnano finished 10 of 21 for 91 yards with one interception and a lost fumble on an aborted snap, was sacked three times, and played on despite injuring his right foot late in the third quarter, according to Reuters. Baltimore's three quarterbacks combined for 26 passes and 68 net yards, the team's fewest since its 2017 London loss to Jacksonville. Baltimore was the first team to have three quarterbacks throw a pass before half-time of a game since the 2017 Dallas Cowboys, according to ESPN's Jamison Hensley, and the last time three quarterbacks appeared in a regular-season game for the Ravens was November 26, 2000.

Buffalo, by contrast, led from start to finish. Josh Allen threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, going 21 of 34, and ran seven times for 30 yards and a touchdown. James Cook rushed for 80 yards and a touchdown. D.J. Moore and Dalton Kincaid caught touchdown passes, the second of them a 23-yard score with 5 minutes 58 seconds left. Buffalo outgained Baltimore by a wide margin, finished with four sacks and 12 quarterback hits, and led 10-7 after the first quarter, 16-7 at half-time and 23-10 after three quarters before scoring 13 points in the fourth. Derrick Henry scored Baltimore's only touchdown, on 11 carries for 53 yards, and Roquan Smith led the Ravens with 11 tackles and a forced fumble.

Background: A Comeback That Lasted One Play

Jackson's return had been the story of Baltimore's week. He had missed three games after suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 4 against Tennessee, practised fully all week and carried no injury designation into Sunday's game at Highmark Stadium, where Buffalo entered 5-1 and averaging 32.8 points per game and Baltimore entered 4-3. The Ravens had gone 1-2 with Huntley starting in Jackson's absence, and Jackson's return was supposed to steady a team already sliding.

Instead, the injury on the first play revived every concern about Baltimore's depth at the most important position in the sport. Huntley's own injury, on a strip-sack that handed Buffalo the ball at the Ravens' 20, meant that by half-time Baltimore was down to a rookie who had been signed as emergency cover, not as a planned starter. The Ravens' offence, which is usually among the NFL's best with Jackson on the field, managed only 144 yards and committed three turnovers.

The defeat was Baltimore's largest margin of defeat since a 44-10 loss to Houston last year, and it left the Ravens 0-2 in the AFC North and last in the division. Buffalo, meanwhile, won a third straight game to reach 6-1, with Allen's performance coming in the same game in which he passed Jim Kelly for the Bills' franchise record for career touchdown passes, a mark covered separately on this site. The record throw, an 11-yard pass to Moore with 12 minutes 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter, was Allen's 259th career touchdown pass including the post-season, against Kelly's 258.

Lamar Jackson Surgery: What the Injured-Reserve Move Means

Minter's announcement after the game settled the question that had hung over Baltimore since Jackson walked off: this is not a week-to-week injury. Jackson needs surgery on the thumb, and the injured-reserve move means he must miss at least four games. According to reporting of Minter's announcement by Ravens Wire, citing Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic and Brian Wacker of The Baltimore Sun, those games are against Jacksonville, the Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina and Houston.

The timing matters because Baltimore has its bye in Week 13. If Jackson is placed on injured reserve before Thursday's game against Jacksonville, the earliest he could become eligible to return would be the Week 14 game against Tampa Bay on December 13. That is a long stretch for a team that has already lost three games in a row and now faces a short week, with no certainty about who will start at quarterback on Thursday night.

Huntley's status adds to the uncertainty. He was ruled out of the Buffalo game with a toe injury, and no return date for him was announced in the reporting checked for this article. Fagnano, for his part, finished the game despite his own foot problem late in the third quarter, but a rookie making his debut in a 36-10 defeat, behind an offensive line that allowed four sacks and 12 quarterback hits, is not a long-term plan on his own. Baltimore has until the November 10 trade deadline to consider adding a veteran, although signing an available free agent could provide a more immediate solution than a trade.

Reactions

The clearest official reaction came from Minter himself, in the post-game announcement that Jackson needs surgery and will go on injured reserve. That announcement, reported by Ravens Wire, NBC Sports and the Ravens' own game recap, replaced the cautious language of Sunday afternoon, when Jackson was first listed as questionable and then ruled out, with a firm, season-altering diagnosis.

The Ravens' own recap struck a sombre note, noting that Baltimore's defence played an inspired game but that the team ultimately lost 36-10, and that the Ravens "could be without Lamar Jackson for even more time". The team's recap also recorded the historic rarity of the day: three quarterbacks in one game for the first time since 2000, and the first team to use three quarterbacks before half-time since Dallas in 2017.

Elsewhere, the reaction has focused on the cruelty of the timing. Jackson had waited three games to return from the ankle injury, only to be hurt on his first throw back. The Bills, for their part, did what good teams do against a wounded opponent: they scored on their opening drive, took advantage of the short fields created by the turnovers, and never let Baltimore back into the game after half-time.

Why It Matters

It matters because Baltimore's season now hinges on a position it cannot fill from within. Jackson is not only the Ravens' starting quarterback; he is a two-time Most Valuable Player whose running and passing transform the offence. Without him, and with Huntley also hurt, Baltimore's offence produced 68 net passing yards from three quarterbacks in Buffalo. That is not a blip; it is the shape of the problem for the next month.

It matters, too, because the schedule offers no soft landing. Baltimore hosts Jacksonville on Thursday night, on a short week, with the Jaguars coming off a 42-7 rout of Indianapolis. Then come the Chargers, Carolina and Houston, before the bye and a possible return against Tampa Bay in Week 14. A team that started the season with Super Bowl ambitions is now 4-4, last in its division and facing a stretch that could decide whether it is still in the play-off race when Jackson is eligible to return.

For Buffalo, the game matters in the opposite direction. The Bills are 6-1, have won three straight, and beat a division rival's rival in Baltimore while their own quarterback set a franchise record. Their defence, with four sacks and 12 quarterback hits, set the tone, and their offence did enough, with Allen's two touchdown passes and Cook's rushing score, to turn a 16-7 half-time lead into a rout.

What Happens Next

The immediate question is who starts for Baltimore on Thursday night against Jacksonville. If Huntley's toe injury keeps him out, Fagnano would be in line for his first NFL start, four days after his debut, unless Baltimore signs a veteran in the meantime. The team has not announced a starter in the reporting checked for this article, and Thursday's short week leaves little time for a new signing to learn the offence.

Beyond Thursday, the key dates are fixed by the injured-reserve rules and the calendar. Jackson must miss at least four games: Jacksonville, the Chargers, Carolina and Houston. Baltimore's bye falls in Week 13, and the earliest return date is Week 14 against Tampa Bay on December 13, assuming the injured-reserve move is made before Thursday's game. The November 10 trade deadline is the last chance to add a quarterback by trade, although a free-agent signing remains possible after that date.

For Jackson himself, the next step is surgery and rehabilitation, with no timetable beyond the four-game minimum announced so far. For the Ravens, the next step is survival: finding a way to win enough games in the next month, with a rookie or a veteran newcomer under centre, to still be in contention when their franchise quarterback can return.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Lamar Jackson need surgery? Yes. Ravens head coach Jesse Minter announced after the 36-10 loss to Buffalo on November 1, 2026, that Jackson needs surgery on his injured right thumb and will be placed on injured reserve.

How many games will Lamar Jackson miss? At least four games, under NFL injured-reserve rules. The reported games are Jacksonville, the Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina and Houston, with Baltimore's Week 13 bye in between.

When can Lamar Jackson return? The earliest he could become eligible to return is Week 14 against Tampa Bay on December 13, assuming he is placed on injured reserve before Thursday's game against Jacksonville.

What happened to Tyler Huntley? Huntley replaced Jackson, then suffered a toe injury in the second quarter after a strip-sack by Cole Bishop, was ruled out at half-time, and finished 2 of 4 for no yards with a lost fumble.

Who is Joe Fagnano? Fagnano is a 25-year-old undrafted rookie out of the University of Connecticut who made his NFL regular-season debut as Baltimore's emergency third quarterback against Buffalo, completing 10 of 21 passes for 91 yards with one interception.

Related coverage: Lamar Jackson thumb injury: Ravens star exits Bills game on first play; Josh Allen passes Jim Kelly for Bills passing touchdown record; Lions beat Vikings 19-15 to end unbeaten run as Campbell injury stuns Detroit.