Ravens trade for Jacoby Brissett after losing Lamar Jackson, and the AFC North tilts toward Pittsburgh

The Baltimore Ravens completed a trade for Arizona quarterback Jacoby Brissett on Friday, a day after a 33-10 home loss to Jacksonville left them 4-5 and last in the AFC North. Baltimore sends a 2027 fourth-round pick and a 2028 seventh-rounder to the Cardinals for Brissett and a 2027 fifth, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, ESPN reported.

The Ravens needed someone. Lamar Jackson missed three games with a high left ankle sprain, came back last Sunday at Buffalo and hurt his right thumb on his first snap of a 36-10 loss. Baltimore put him on injured reserve before Thursday's game, and ESPN described the injury as potentially season-ending and requiring surgery. Top backup Tyler Huntley is out for the year with turf toe, so undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano made his first start against the Jaguars, ESPN's Jamison Hensley reported.

It went badly. Fagnano threw one pass longer than 10 yards, Derrick Henry took 10 direct snaps out of the Wildcat, and Baltimore finished with 55 passing yards, its fewest in nine years, according to Hensley. The Ravens have now been held under 14 points in four straight games, a franchise record, and have lost three straight by 20 or more for the first time in their history. "They were a better team. Same story," Henry said.

What Brissett brings

Brissett, 33, had started Arizona's last 20 games before he was pulled during Sunday's overtime win over Dallas; the Cardinals then made Gardner Minshew II their starter and dropped Brissett to third, and he asked for a trade. He has never had a winning record in 11 seasons and is 23-50 as a starter, Hensley noted on Wednesday, the second-worst mark over the past decade among quarterbacks with 50 starts. Before the Jacksonville game, ESPN Analytics gave Baltimore a 6.4% chance to make the playoffs and a 0.5% chance to win the division.

What it means for the Steelers

Pittsburgh is idle this weekend and will stay in first place regardless. The Steelers are 6-2 and own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Cincinnati (5-2), which plays Atlanta in Madrid on Sunday morning, after beating the Bengals 30-27 in Week 3.

The Browns (5-3) are dealing with their own quarterback change. Deshaun Watson is in the concussion protocol after reporting symptoms Tuesday, and Shedeur Sanders will make his first start of the season Sunday at New Orleans, coach Todd Monken said Friday, ESPN's Daniel Oyefusi reported. Watson threw for 324 yards in Pittsburgh last Sunday but was sacked eight times in a 27-6 loss.

The Steelers have not played Baltimore yet. The Ravens visit Acrisure Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 20, at 1 p.m. Eastern on CBS, and the teams close the regular season in Baltimore, with the date and time still to be set. Before either, Pittsburgh goes to Cincinnati on Sunday night, Nov. 15: game page. The schedule is on the team page.