The Baltimore Ravens will hand the ball to a quarterback almost nobody outside their building had heard of two weeks ago when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday Night Football tonight. Undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano is set to make his first NFL start, and oddsmakers have made the visiting Jaguars clear favorites to open Week 9 of the NFL season.
Kickoff at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore is set for 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video, according to the TVLine viewing guide and the Jaguars site Black & Teal, which lists Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit in the booth with Kaylee Hartung on the sideline.
How the Ravens got here
Baltimore’s quarterback room has been hit hard. Star quarterback Lamar Jackson injured his throwing thumb, and ESPN, citing sources, reported Wednesday that the injury is potentially season-ending and will require surgery. Backup Tyler Huntley is out with a turf toe injury that sources told ESPN will end his season. Both men were hurt during the Ravens’ 36-10 loss at Buffalo last weekend.
That loss was Baltimore’s third straight and dropped the team to 4-4. Fagnano, who was the No. 3 quarterback entering Week 8, got his first NFL action in that game. According to Heavy, he began his college career at Maine before transferring to UConn and beat out Diego Pavia and Austin Reed for Baltimore’s third-string job. He also reportedly hurt his ankle in Buffalo and has had it wrapped at times in practice this week.
The Ravens moved quickly for help. ESPN and the team’s own website reported Wednesday that Baltimore is finalizing a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for veteran Jacoby Brissett, though terms have not been reported and the deal was not expected to be completed until the weekend. That means Brissett will not play tonight. He could be ready for Baltimore’s Nov. 16 Monday night game against the Los Angeles Chargers, ESPN reported.
Brissett, 33, is an 11-year veteran with 73 career starts, according to the Ravens. He threw for 1,719 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions in eight starts this season before Arizona benched him for Gardner Minshew II. He will reunite in Baltimore with quarterbacks coach Israel Woolfork, who coached him in Arizona.
Jacksonville arrives rolling
The Jaguars are 5-2 and coming off a 42-7 rout of the Indianapolis Colts. Yahoo Sports noted that three of their five wins have come by 24 points or more.
The Florida Times-Union reported that Jacksonville is 13-2 in its last 15 regular-season games, the best mark in the league over that span, and that coach Liam Coen is 18-6 overall. The Jaguars rank second in the NFL in scoring defense at 15.9 points allowed per game and first against the run at 77.4 rushing yards allowed per game.
Betting lines moved sharply after the Ravens’ quarterback news. The Times-Union, citing BetMGM, listed the Jaguars as 9-point favorites with an over/under of 42.5, and Yahoo Sports said some books had pushed the line to 10 points.
The matchup to watch: Derrick Henry vs. the NFL’s top run defense
With an inexperienced passer under center, Baltimore is expected to lean on running back Derrick Henry. History gives Ravens fans some hope: Henry has 1,584 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns in 15 career games against Jacksonville, most of them from his years in Tennessee, according to the Times-Union. But the Jaguars have not allowed a 100-yard rusher in their last 24 games.
Yahoo Sports reported Henry has 156 yards on 45 carries over the last three games, and the Ravens have not scored more than 13 points in any of them.
Injury report
- Jaguars: Running back Bhayshul Tuten (ankle/foot) and defensive end Travon Walker (rib) are listed as questionable. Defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton is out for the season with a quad injury.
- Ravens: Jackson and Huntley are out. Running back Adam Randall (neck) and cornerback Nate Wiggins (stinger, illness) are questionable.
- Ravens’ backup plan: Kedon Slovis is expected to be the No. 2 quarterback, with running back Justice Hill listed as the emergency option, according to Heavy.
Why it matters for families
Thursday night games stream on Prime Video, so families without a subscription in most markets will need another option. Black & Teal notes that local broadcast stations in the two teams’ home markets carry the game, and NFL+ and fuboTV also offer streams. With an 8:15 p.m. ET start, the late quarters will run past bedtime for many younger East Coast fans.
It is also a good underdog story for young fans. Catch up on Monday night’s game in our recap, Bears Beat Champion Seahawks 34-17 on MNF, and on the college side, see how Miami and Georgia lead the first College Football Playoff rankings.
What to watch next
A Jaguars win would keep them near the top of the AFC, while a Ravens upset would get Baltimore back above .500 before Brissett arrives. Upstormed News will follow the Ravens’ quarterback situation as it develops.
Read more: Wembanyama Scores 52 With 24 Rebounds as Spurs Edge Mavericks 112-111
Can a rookie quarterback and Derrick Henry pull off the upset in Baltimore? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Sources: Yahoo Sports, “NFL Thursday Night Football preview: Ravens to start rookie Joe Fagnano at QB vs. Jaguars” (November 5, 2026); Florida Times-Union via Yahoo Sports, “Jaguars vs. Ravens, odds, injuries, key matchup in Thursday Night showdown” (November 4, 2026); Heavy via Yahoo Sports, “Who’s Playing QB Tonight for Ravens? Joe Fagnano, Jacoby Brissett Decision Impacts Jaguars” (November 5, 2026); ESPN, “Sources – Ravens finalizing trade with Cardinals for QB Brissett” (November 4, 2026); BaltimoreRavens.com, “Ravens Reportedly Trading for Quarterback Jacoby Brissett” (November 4, 2026); Black & Teal, “How to watch Jaguars vs. Ravens on TNF with or without cable (& injury report)” (November 5, 2026); TVLine, “What To Watch On TV And Streaming Thursday, November 5, 2026” (November 5, 2026)
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