Ravens inside linebacker C.J. Mosley suffered a knee injury early in Thursday night's game and was carted to the locker room for further evaluation.
The update came at halftime after an MRI, and the Ravens dodged a bullet. Mosley has a bone bruise.
Head Coach John Harbaugh confirmed after the game that Mosley has "no ligament damage of any kind," and the injury doesn't look to be long-term. He didn't rule out Mosley playing against the Broncos in Week 3.
"Good thing is we have a long week," Harbaugh said. "I don't know if that means he'll be ready for Denver or not. I have no idea. But I do know there's no kind of [ligament] damage."
Mosley appeared to land awkwardly after leaping over Bengals receiver Tyler Boyd, who had fallen in the end zone. Mosley limped off the field and, a few minutes later, was carted to the locker room.
Losing Mosley for a significant amount of time would be a serious blow to the Ravens' defense. He has made the Pro Bowl in three of his first four seasons since joining the team as a first-round pick in 2014. He is the captain in the middle of the Ravens' defense, handling making the calls and getting the front seven lined up.
Without Mosley, the Ravens handed play-calling duties over to veteran safety Eric Weddle. Rookie linebacker Kenny Young joined Patrick Onwuasor as the starting inside linebackers after Mosley left the game.
While Young flashed and finished with eight tackles, including one for a loss, the Ravens defense immediately struggled without him, surrendering four touchdowns on the next four series.
"That's your middle linebacker," Harbaugh said. "You've got two young guys in there playing. Those guys played hard, they fought. But they didn't play perfect. That's going to hurt you for sure, and it did."
Harbaugh said it hurt the Ravens some in the run game, but more with their underneath coverage.
"It definitely seemed like things were a little bit scrambled when you lose a guy like that," cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. "Just him being out there makes everything smoother."
Mosley taped a lengthy list of goals to his locker during training camp, including his desire to win the league's Defensive Player of the Year Award and Super Bowl MVP. During his four-year career, he has missed just two games during his four-year career.
