Mike Preston: Ravens can win with Cooper Rush if necessary

Mike Preston, The Baltimore Sun on Aug 23, 2025

Published in Football

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LANDOVER, Md. — The Baltimore Ravens unveiled their game plan in case backup quarterback Cooper Rush has to play for starter Lamar Jackson.

It wasn’t pretty, but effective.

The plan also depends on the opponent just as much as the quarterback. If it’s Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes or Buffalo’s Josh Allen, then the Ravens might be in trouble because they’ll have to push the offense. But against most teams in the AFC, the Ravens would be competitive, and would probably win.

Rush, 31, was signed by the Ravens in March to a two-year, $6.2 million deal worth up to $12.2 million. Against the Washington Commanders on Saturday afternoon at Northwest Stadium, Rush completed all five of his passes for 59 yards and a 14-0 lead before being replaced by Devin Leary early in the second quarter of an eventual 30-3 win.

Apparently, Ravens coach John Harbaugh had seen enough. Actually, we’ve all seen enough, and maybe the owners will finally decide to shorten the preseason to two games.

But after three exhibitions and nearly four weeks of training camp practice, the Ravens’ game plan of featuring the No. 1 running game the past two years hasn’t changed. It will be Derrick Henry with plenty of carries, and then more Henry.

There will be modest changes.

Jackson can throw almost any pass required by a NFL quarterback except the deep comeback. With Rush in the lineup, the dynamics change. Not just because Jackson is a better runner and scrambler, but Rush’s arm isn’t as strong.

So, what you got Saturday is most likely what you will get on game day if Jackson is sidelined. According to Harbaugh, Jackson is expected to practice Monday after suffering an apparent injury Wednesday. Rush, though, played well. He threw a lot of quick slants and hitches. On the Ravens’ opening 14-play, 70-yard scoring drive against the Commanders, they ran the ball 10 times.

On their next seven-play, 57-yard scoring drive, which resulted in a 1-yard touchdown run by D’Ernest Johnson, the Ravens got a little bold with a 22-yard completion over the middle to LaJohntay Wester off a play-action pass from Rush.

You get the picture. The Ravens were pretty vanilla Saturday, but they won’t go far off course.

Without Jackson, there are no options or fake quarterback runs off the perimeter. There is no Jackson dart left, dart right, improvise and throw a touchdown pass. With Rush, he has to make throws and deliver the ball quickly. He has decent athleticism, but isn’t in Jackson’s class.

Few are.

But the Ravens have the playmakers who can complement Rush. Rashod Bateman is a good route runner. Fellow wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has good hands, as strong as any receiver in the league. The Ravens also have tight end Mark Andrews, who could become Rush’s go-to receiver just like he has been for Jackson.

Everything, though, is predicated off the run. That’s where Henry and his supporting cast come in. The Ravens have a solid backup in Justice Hill, a third-down specialist whom Rush can throw safely to out of the backfield. They also have Keaton Mitchell, a good change-of-pace back for Henry.

“I think things went well,” Rush said of his performance. “You always like those long drives that take eight or nine minutes. We were moving the ball on the ground. Those guys up front and our backs played very hard. We did a good job of operating and our center [Corey Bullock] always makes it easy with the pass protections. It’s a lot easier when you are operating the way we were.”

It seemed kind of weird that the Ravens gave Rush or any backup quarterback that kind of money several months ago. After watching him perform in training camp, there were doubts. Early in organized team activities, he had no touch on the long ball. His timing was off, especially with the tight ends.

There were times when Rush threw some of the strangest interceptions in practice and you wondered whether he could ever become the quality backup the Ravens wanted him to be. But offensive coordinator Todd Monken has shaped a game plan around Rush, who has played in 38 games since 2021 as the primary backup to Dallas’ Dak Prescott. Rush started 14 of those games and has a 9-5 record with a passer rating of 83.8.

He isn’t Jackson, but he doesn’t have to be. Like most backups, he doesn’t have the arm strength to be a starter, but it’s not required in another offense. It’s all about design.

He can win if needed.

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