Lamar Jackson has gotten off to a hot start in 2023. While he has yet to throw for more than 237 yards in a game through the first four weeks, that’s not why he’s so valuable.
Jackson provides the Baltimore Ravens with such a unique weapon at the quarterback spot. He’s mobile and athletic, and what really separates him from the pack is how good he’s been at decision-making and limiting mistakes in 2023. He’s thrown just one interception this season, and his 74.3 percent completion rate places him second to only Josh Allen.
If the Steelers want a chance to win on Sunday, it all starts with slowing down Jackson. Mike Tomlin knows this and talked about it some on The Mike Tomlin Show today.
“Largely the offense regardless of circumstance center centers around Lamar Jackson and his talents.” Tomlin noted. “We better focus a lot of our energies on what he is doing with the football and the manner in which he’s doing it.”
The Steelers have had solid success against Jackson in the past. It feels like it should be more, but due to injuries, Jackson has actually only started against the Steelers three times. The Steelers won two of those contests, and even in the Ravens lone win, Jackson wasn’t exactly a world-beater, throwing three interceptions to just one touchdown. In none of the three games against the Steelers has Jackson had more touchdowns than interceptions.
So how have the Steelers slowed him down in the past, and how do Tomlin and company plan to do it again this week? Tomlin touched on this as well today during The Mike Tomlin Show.
“You have to rush smart, you have to cover smart. You can’t be outta place. You gotta tackle, well. Tomlin pointed out. “They do things schematically to make sure that there’s some one-on-one circumstances from time to time, either from a coverage perspective or from a tackling perspective. We gotta take the calculated risks associated with the pursuit of victory, and we gotta stand up in those one-on-one moments.”
Jackson and the Ravens are really at their best when he is doing things with his legs. It’s such a unique advantage for them, and that’s going to be the key for the Steelers. As Tomlin said, the Ravens want to get Jackson in one-on-one scenarios and hope that his athletic ability allows him to win the battle in those cases.
Last week C.J. Stroud was able to make some plays outside of the pocket, and the Steelers seemingly had no answer. That doesn’t bode super well for the outcome on Sunday, but the historical success of this team against Jackson at least provides some reasons for optimism. Let’s see if this defense can rise to the occasion.
