BALTIMORE — The Ravens’ season is now down to the return of quarterback Lamar Jackson.

That’s because there is no other hope.

The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player has to pull off another miracle if the Ravens have any playoff aspirations. Can that happen?

Probably not, at least not with what we’ve seen from Jackson in the first four weeks of the season. He appeared a few steps slower and was even run down on several occasions, which has never happened to Jackson throughout his eight-year career.

His decision-making was slow, which might have been from the injured hamstring, or it might have been from opposing teams blitzing him and keeping spies around the line of scrimmage, not allowing him to escape.

But that’s where this team is right now. The Ravens are 1-5 after losing, 17-3, to the Los Angeles Rams in a game they could have won. That’s the new course chartered by the Ravens.

They are staring into the abyss. A team that many predicted as the Super Bowl champion has lost its way. It’s sad to see, downright humiliating. The most talented team in the 30-year history of this franchise has gone bust. And now, all hopes are on Jackson.

Regardless of the score Sunday, it’s apparent that the Ravens have to score 30 or 40 points to win. They lost, 41-40, in a stunning comeback by the Buffalo Bills in the season opener. They handled Cleveland in Week 2 (after a scary first half) but then gave up 38, 37 points and 44 in losses to Detroit, Kansas City and Houston.

There is a trend here. When it comes to the supposedly elite teams, the Ravens are getting mauled. That is where Jackson enters the picture.

Before the hamstring injury sidelined him for the past two games, the Ravens had some semblance of a real NFL offense. The team’s best play always consisted of Jackson running around with his scrambling ability. That’s why NFL fans, especially those in Baltimore, are mesmerized by his playmaking ability and his improvement in throwing the long ball.

With this team, Jackson has to pull another rabbit out of the hat.

The Ravens’ backup quarterbacks are awful. No. 2 Cooper Rush completed 11 of 19 passes Sunday for 72 yards and finished with a passer rating of 44.2. Most of his throws were of the dink-and-dunk variety, with nothing more than 10 yards.

Question: Is this the NFL or high school football?

No. 3 quarterback Tyler Huntley has a skill set similar to Jackson’s, but can’t throw as well. By the time he came into the game in the fourth quarter, he was harassed by the Rams’ defense, which totaled four sacks and 11 hits on the quarterback.

This offensive line is not very good. Even though running back Derrick Henry had a strong performance, rushing for 122 yards on 24 carries, the Ravens couldn’t pass block. That 14-point deficit in the third quarter was practically insurmountable.

And do we really want to talk about defense?

The Ravens had nearly a 15-minute advantage as far as time of possession, but still allowed 241 yards of total offense. Rams wide receiver Davante Adams dropped three passes and quarterback Matthew Stafford overthrew him twice in the end zone on the Rams’ first drive, or the score might have been worse.

The 8-yard touchdown pass that Stafford threw to tight end Tyler Higbee in the third quarter was the same type of play Houston and Detroit used in previous games. There were signs that the Ravens’ defense improved Sunday, but not to the point where it can be counted on week after week.

OK, Mr. Jackson, time to play.

The Ravens have no other chance. At least with Jackson and Henry, the Ravens have an inside and outside threat with both players, especially on option plays. They have a quarterback who has improved significantly in the past two years throwing long passes and can roll to his left and hit open receivers.

More importantly, Jackson gives this team hope. It’s not phony. They believe in him and that they can win any game with him as the starter.

That’s the key for a team that is void of leadership, especially from the veterans. There are no alpha males on this team, even with Jackson. In 2000, the Ravens had defensive linemen Tony Siragusa, Rob Burnett, Sam Adams and Mike McCrary. In 2012, they had receiver Anquan Boldin, linebacker Ray Lewis, and safeties Bernard Pollard and Ed Reed.

Now, they have no one, only the hope that comes from Jackson. The magic number to get to the playoffs, as always, is about 10 wins, and the Ravens have 11 games remaining and just one victory.

Can Jackson help them go on a nine-game winning streak in a sorry league with games against Miami, Minnesota, Cleveland and Cincinnati? Those are all teams without bona fide starting quarterbacks.

No, but at least his return adds some intrigue to a season that has gone south. That’s all there is left.

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