Lamar Jackson can finish taking Joe Flacco’s job this week

Five weeks remain in the NFL regular season and the playoff picture is beginning to take shape. Though the Patriots, Texans, Saints and Rams have strong holds on their divisions, there are some great races left to finish. The challenges some of those contenders face this week is the focus of the Week 13 High Five:

QB change to watch

Incumbent Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who’s been sidelined with a hip injury, is in jeopardy of losing his starting job to rookie Lamar Jackson.

Jackson, Baltimore’s first-round draft pick out of Louisville, is expected to make his third consecutive start Sunday. If the Ravens win at Atlanta, it’ll be their third consecutive victory.

If that happens, even if Flacco is cleared to play next week, coach John Harbaugh is going to have a difficult time sending Jackson back to the bench — his athletic skill and humble nature has been rapidly gaining supporters in the locker room.

Before Jackson’s first start, the Ravens were mired in a three-game losing streak and in danger of missing the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Now they’re 6-5 and in control of their own destiny (currently the No. 6 seed in the AFC).

The skeptics will point to the fact Jackson has been more dangerous with his running ability than his passing and that his two wins as a starter came against the Bengals and Raiders, two struggling teams with two of the league’s worst defenses.

But with Jackson starting, the Ravens have rushed for 509 yards over the past two games — the most in the NFL and a franchise record. The Ravens’ time of possession has averaged 36:10 with Jackson compared to 30:39 with Flacco.

“It’s amazing how athletic he is, and how good of a quarterback he is,” tight end Mark Andrews told reporters. “He is able to do so much that makes defenses stay up late at night.”

If Jackson can continue his magic, it could mean Flacco, who helped lead Baltimore to a Super Bowl title, has played his last down with the Ravens, who can free up $18.5 million of salary-cap space if they release Flacco.

Seattle reunion to watch

For years during Seattle’s success, two of the most visible stars on the team were quarterback Russell Wilson and cornerback Richard Sherman.

Wilson is still with the Seahawks and Sherman is now playing with the 49ers. The two teams meet Sunday, the first time Wilson and Sherman will meet as opponents. And Sherman’s first return trip to Seattle since the Seahawks cut him March 9 isn’t likely to be warm and fuzzy with Wilson.

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Despite telling reporters during the week that he was looking forward to seeing “some old faces,” Wilson isn’t among that group.

“I don’t really have a relationship with Russell,” Sherman said. “We were teammates. We played through a very special time for the franchise.”

When a reporter suggested to Sherman that he was aware of what the athletic and elusive Wilson was capable of as a playmaker outside the pocket, Sherman said, “Yeah, I’ve also seen him throw five picks in the game, so you see what he’s capable of on both sides of it.’’

Ouch.

When Wilson was interviewed by the Seattle media, he was effusive with his praise of Sherman, calling him “as good as it gets at corner,” and adding, “He’s going to be a Hall of Fame corner.’’

Sherman, who signed with the 49ers as a free agent March 11, was critical of how the Seahawks handled his release after making four Pro Bowls and starting 105 consecutive games. At the time of his release, he was recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and due to make $11 million this season.

“You just expect after you’ve done so much for a franchise that they wouldn’t cut you while you’re hurt,” Sherman said. “It’s kind of more of a respect thing than anything, but they did, so you have got to kind of roll with the business.”

Upset to watch

Who would have predicted the Browns as a team that had a chance to derail a hot team’s long winning streak?

That’s what stands before the Texans, though, as they try to win their ninth consecutive game when play the suddenly-dangerous Browns, who are a respectable 4-6-1 and have won two of their past the games since the firing of coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

The catalyst has been quarterback Baker Mayfield, who’s looking more deserving of his No. 1-overall draft pick by the week.

“When I watch him on film, I don’t really see a rookie quarterback,” Houston safety Tyrann Mathieu told reporters during the week.

Mayfield has completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 2,242 yards and 17 TDs with multiple TD-pass games the in his past five starts.

“He’s big challenge,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien told reporters. “He’s a great young quarterback. He can throw from the pocket, he’s an accurate passer and, obviously, he can extend plays. He’s a confident guy, very confident, feels like he can make all the throws, and he can make all the throws. He’s the No. 1 draft pick for a reason.”

Last stand to watch

The Packers and star quarterback Aaron Rodgers might be facing a last stand of sorts when they face the Cardinals.

The Packers are 4-6-1 and probably cannot afford to lose another game or they’ll miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Receiver Randall Cobb, who’s missed six of the past eight games because of a hamstring injury but is expected to return Sunday, said he believes Rodgers is about the ignite a winning streak.

“I’m excited to get back out there because I know with all the noise that’s been said over the past week about him [Rodgers], he’s getting ready to light everybody up this week,” Cobb told reporters. “It’s going to be a lot of fun and I look forward to helping him out.”

Cobb, who’s played in just five of 11 games this season, has had a weird year. He pulled his hamstring during the Week 3 game at Washington. At that point, he had 17 catches for 192 yards and a TD in fewer than three full games. That included a game-winning, 75-yard TD catch against the Bears in the season opener.

“[Cobb’s return] would be a big boost for us,” Rodgers said.

QB future to watch

Though the 5-6 Dolphins are not out of the playoff picture, their chances are tenuous at best entering Sunday’s home game against the Bills. Whatever happens in the final five games will likely be a significant factor in quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s future in Miami.

Tannehill has missed 25 games in the past three seasons, including five this year with a shoulder injury before returning last week.

“If you’re on the field, you’re getting evaluated,” Tannehill told reporters this week when asked about his injuries and his future. “That is what it is. Whatever you put on tape, that’s what this team and every other team has to go on.”

Coach Adam Gase has sounded this season like he’s all in with Tannehill, but Tannehill, 30, has said he hasn’t gotten any assurances beyond this season from the team. The Dolphins have made the playoffs once (2016) since he was drafted in 2012. Tannehill has a 40-43 career record as a starter.

“He has some rare qualities that you can’t find in a lot of guys physically,” Gase told reporters earlier this season. “The more that he keeps playing, he keeps learning game to game. That’s something to me that puts him in position to where, where’s our ceiling at? I don’t think we’re close to it.”

Tannehill’s $26.6 million salary-cap hit ranks sixth among all NFL players in 2019, and his $18.7 million base salary ranks seventh. If the Dolphins cut Tannehill before June 1, they can save $13.2 million against the cap while carrying a $13.4 million dead-cap hit.