For 15 games this season, the offensive line has been a strength for the Ravens.
But the group is in flux after a season-ending foot injury to right tackle Rick Wagner and an ankle injury to left tackle Eugene Monroe. Now big questions remain heading into the final week of the regular season.
Who will start at right tackle? Is Monroe healthy enough to play? How much shuffling needs to happen to fill the five spots up front?
The Ravens could very well wait until they take the field Sunday afternoon to answer those questions.
"If you're around long enough, you understand that injuries do happen, and they happen when you don't want them to happen," Pro Bowl right guard Marshal Yanda said. "The next man up has to be ready to roll, and you have to be ready to go in, step in and do your job and do it at a high level."
Wagner and Monroe both went down last week against the Texans, and the Ravens had to scramble to fill their spots. Yanda slid out to right tackle, a position he played earlier in his career, and rookie John Urschel took over at right guard.
Undrafted rookie James Hurst filled in a left tackle where he started four games at earlier this year. Hurst initially filled in at right tackle when Wagner went down, but then flipped sides after the injury to Monroe.
All of those alignments are a possibility this week.
"I'm definitely prepared," Hurst said. "Getting those starts earlier in the season really helped. That gives you confidence, gives you experience. I'm ready to go."
A benefit for the Ravens is the fact that Yanda is one of the best linemen in the NFL and he has starting experience at guard and tackle.
"Marshal has been in this position before," tight end Owen Daniels said. "He's such a season veteran and has been doing this for so long that he could play any position on the offensive line."
The Ravens could also mix their lineup by putting left guard Kelechi Osemele at right tackle, and having Urschel play left guard. Hurst and Urschel started two games alongside each other at left tackle and left guard in Weeks 6-7, and Osemele spent the entire 2012 season at the starting right tackle.
"I feel good about our offensive line," Head Coach John Harbaugh said. "We've had those guys that have played before, and we just have to see how that shakes out. But I feel very good about our offensive line and how they'll perform."
