Lamar Jackson cleared from concussion protocol after Ravens teammate kicked him in the face

Lamar Jackson got kicked in the face by his own teammate, and for one drive the Baltimore Ravens were down to their third-string quarterback.

Robert Griffin III took his first meaningful snaps of 2018 Sunday afternoon, replacing Jackson as the rookie passer went through the NFL’s concussion protocol. Fortunately for Baltimore, his absence didn’t last. The former Heisman Trophy winner returned from his team’s locker room, ready to return for the tail end of a Week 13 showdown with the Falcons

Jackson left the field after absorbing an errant kick from blocker Ronnie Stanley, who had toppled forward before accidentally clipping his quarterback on the way down. The rookie was able to walk off the field under his own power, but his return to the lineup was questionable.

It’s a rough twist in a day that started promisingly. Jackson started his day by taking an option run 13 yards down the right sideline to give his club an early 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

He’d completed 11 of 18 passes for 117 yards and ran for 35 more and the aforementioned touchdown when he was forced into the locker room. He’d only miss one series before being cleared by doctors to return to the field.

Baltimore was already playing without longtime starting QB Joe Flacco, who had missed his team’s last two games due to a hip injury. That paved the way for Jackson to make the first starts of his NFL career, and the electric dual-threat passer has helped keep the Ravens afloat in the playoff standings. He beat the Bengals and Raiders to push his club to 6-5 and firmly into the Wild Card race.

Jackson wasn’t a perfect passer, throwing just one touchdown pass and three interceptions over those starts, but his ability to extend plays and drives on the ground belied a truly special talent behind center. The rookie ran for 190 yards and a touchdown in those starts, preventing defenses from finding any kind of rhythm against him.

With Jackson out, Baltimore will turn to another dual-threat passer who once made waves as a rookie. Griffin was a white-hot talent in 2012, but a myriad of injuries and ineffective play have turned him into a third-string player this fall. It had been nearly two full years since he’d thrown an NFL pass, though his early returns — 2 for 4 for 21 yards — suggested he can still bring value to the position. In his last run as a starter (with the 2016 Browns), he delivered the club’s only win of the season but also recorded a career low 72.5 passer rating.

Fortunately for Baltimore, the club is still home to the league’s top-ranked defense. That unit will give a veteran backup like Griffin several opportunities to win, even if he struggles in his first meaningful action since January 1, 2017.

That’s important, because a mobile QB like Jackson is going to rack up plenty of damage, even in his best games.