https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/bears-were-preparing-to-face-lamar-jackson
To the extent that the Ravens listed quarterback Lamar Jackson as being a “full” participant in practice on Friday as part of an effort to get the Bears to plan to defend the two-time MVP and not Tyler Huntley, it worked.
As explained by Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears were preparing to face Jackson.
“We were looking at tape of him and saw him practicing all week . . . so we had to flip our minds to the next quarterback,” safety Jaquan Brisker said after the game, per Lieser. “It was a big difference.”
Brisker added that the Bears dumped multiple schemes that had been implemented to defend against Jackson. And the pivot to Huntley was not effective.
Huntley completed 17 of 22 passes fo 186 yards and a touchdown in a 30-16 win. He also had a passer rating of 116.9, a career high.
That said, Bears safety Kevin Byard called the potential misdirection a non-factor. Byard pointed to the struggles of the team’s defense. Meanwhile, defensive Grady Jarrett said he didn’t believe the Ravens were engaged in malfeasance.
The NFL will be the ultimate judge of that. At a minimum, the Ravens violated the injury-reporting policy by listing Jackson as being a “full” participant when he should have been listed as “limited.” If the league decides it was done as a deliberate ruse to hide the truth about who would play, the penalties (by rule) will be enhanced.
https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/bears-were-preparing-to-face-lamar-jackson
