The reality is, the Ravens just aren’t running many offensive plays. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Ravens had two- and three-play touchdown drives Sunday. You’ll take the quick strikes all the time. But they do impact how much the Ravens are able to get their myriad offensive players involved. Take away nine plays per game and about four minutes of possession time and that’s significant in terms of how many touches certain players are able to get and how many snaps guys play.

Mark Ingram, Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, Mark Andrews, Marquise Brown, Lamar Jackson

Ingram who is second on the team to Jackson with 34 carries, is already averaging five fewer carries per game than he got through the course of last year. Edwards, who has looked like the Ravens’ most effective back, is on pace to average two fewer touches per game than he got last year. Wide receiver Brown has 24 targets and 16 catches. Last year, he had 34 targets and 18 catches through this point. Tight end Andrews has 12 catches on 20 targets. Through four games last year, he had 23 catches on 32 targets. The Ravens haven’t been able to spread the ball around and get as many players as involved as they’d like. They just haven’t had enough plays to do that, the story went on to say.

As Lamar Jackson develops as a passer, the expectation is he'll run the ball fewer times. Last offseason, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti and Jackson himself both said he would run the ball less in 2019. But Jackson's 176 rush attempts not only set a mark for quarterbacks but ranked 23rd among all players last season.

"Obviously, Lamar's skill set and dynamic athletic ability -- that's something we can have available every week and do a little bit more of it this week and a little bit less of it the next week," Roman said. "I think that's always on the table, those type of things. I think it's also an in-game feel for how the game is going and how the defense is playing. I think we're at the point now where we have a pretty good menu when we go into a game. We can see how the game is going and understand that things are going to change in the course of a game. I think it's something we can definitely hang our hat on at times and other times we won't."

In Jackson's two NFL seasons, his 265 designed runs are 159 more than any other quarterback's. Bills quarterback Josh Allen is second with 106. The Ravens have four quality RBs in Mark Ingram, Zac Edwards, Justice Hill and J.K. Dobbins, but Jackson's running ability can open up holes in defenses for anyone and will certainly be part of the game plan this season. But there is also a fine line with wanting to keep Jackson healthy.

Running back Justice Hill is not on the field with Lamar Jackson.

Related players: Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, Mark Ingram

Hill is among the Raven players with "soft tissue things" as HC John Harbaugh put it the other day. It's not believed to be serious but it's a tough competition for carries behind Ingram in a crowded backfield. It could especially benefit Dobbins, the rookie.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson’s absence from Ravens practice came to an end on Monday.

Jackson missed two straight practices and head coach John Harbaugh said on Sunday that the reigning NFL MVP was one of a group of players dealing with “soft tissue things.”

Harbaugh declined to go into any further detail of the quarterback’s condition, but he was back on the field Monday so there may not have been much more to say about the situation. Reports said it was a groin injury for Jackson.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson has missed the past two training camp practices because of a groin injury, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The good news is Jackson is slated to return to action on Monday, sources said. After Sunday's practice, coach John Harbaugh described Jackson's injury as a "soft-tissue" one but wouldn't expand beyond that.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson missed a second straight practice on Sunday, which led to a question for head coach John Harbaugh about his condition.

“We’ve got a couple guys — Marcus Peters is another one and Justice Hill is another one — who have some soft tissue things. Just rather be safe with those guys right now and give those things a chance to get better and be right,” Harbaugh said.

It doesn't sounds serious, which is the good news. But the bad news is you just never know with these kind of injuries. The Ravens are going to be safe with their star QB, and we'll continue to monitor.

Harbaugh said that Lamar Jackson, Earl Thomas, Marshal Yanda and Brandon Williams all won't play Sunday against Steelers.

Related players: Mark Ingram, Robert Griffin III

Ingram can likely be added to this list as Ian Rapoport already said Ingram won't play with his calf injury. It's a big blow to fantasy owners playing in the finals in Week 17 who now won't have Jackson as their QB. But with nothing to play for and having the top seed locked up, it's a good time to get Jackson some rest. Griffin gets the start.

Before the Ravens beat the Jets last Thursday, there was a report indicating that the Ravens would likely rest quarterback Lamar Jackson in Week 17 if they had locked up the top playoff seed in the AFC.

Last Thursday’s win means that they can accomplish that task by beating the Browns this weekend. On Monday, head coach John Harbaugh was asked if the team will indeed sit Jackson if they knock off Cleveland this weekend.

Harbaugh said, “no plans have been made” at this point.

Related players: Robert Griffin III

Harbaugh said he'd decide "when the time comes," but Jackson owners can't like the direction this looks to be heading. Owners may want to make sure they have a backup plan in place now if they were counting on Jackson for Week 17.

Lamar Jackson broke Michael Vick’s record of 1,039 rushing yards as a quarterback during the first quarter of Thursday’s game against the Jets.

At the time of this post and Schefter’s tweet, Jackson was at 1,044 rushing yards. He will likely break 1,100, perhaps even 1,200 by the end of the season, as the Ravens will likely be playing their starters at least through Week 16 but could rest them in Week 17 as they could have the top seed in the AFC wrapped up by then. Jackson has been an incredible force to watch this season and is single-handedly carrying teams through a playoff run. Congratulations on a terrific season that is still going strong for the MVP favorite.