The Baltimore Ravens announced that they won’t play QB Lamar Jackson against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, but former Ravens WR Mark Clayton isn’t concerned about Baltimore playing its backups.
On the Ravens Talk podcast with Samuel Njoku, Clayton said the Ravens are going to beat the Steelers with their backups, and that their scout team players would be able to execute if given the chance to play.
“This game is a game where true gladiators are going at it, this is that kind of game. I’m sure we’re not gonna play quite a bit of guys, but at the end of the day, I still believe with Pittsburgh’s offensive situation, we will probably come out with the win still,” Clayton said. “Even with the backups, bro. It’s going down. Mike Macdonald gonna have them boys dialed up, dialed in, and I just believe we develop players really well, and we could put our scout team in, and they gonna be in position to make plays and make those plays.”
The Steelers had more than their share of offensive woes in Week Five when they beat the Ravens with both teams playing their starters, so it’s kind of a weak reason to throw out for why the Ravens will win. Especially with the Steelers scoring 30 or more points in each of their last two games with Mason Rudolph under center, it’s not really the time to be calling out Pittsburgh’s offense.
Macdonald is one of the best defensive coordinators in football, and there’s little doubt that he’ll have a good game plan. But Pittsburgh is still a 9-7 football team that’s already beaten the Ravens once this season. Clayton’s dismissal of them is a little bit crazy given how it was Pittsburgh’s defense that ended up taking over last time they played.
We still don’t know the full extent of who is or isn’t playing for Baltimore outside of Jackson, but it’s safe to assume Kyle Hamilton won’t suit up at safety after missing Week 17 with an injury. The Ravens could opt to rest other key starters on either side of the ball, and while they’re a good team with a lot of depth, I don’t think they’re just gonna roll over Pittsburgh with a bunch of backups on the field. Even though Tyler Huntley is one of the better backup quarterbacks in football, he’s still a backup. It might be a close game, but the way Clayton is describing it, you’d think the Steelers were the Carolina Panthers.
Given that the Steelers also have a lot to play for and the Ravens’ only motivation is trying to play spoiler against their archrival, I wouldn’t be out giving proclamations that the Ravens’ scout team could go out and win. For as well-coached and talented of a team as the Ravens are, their third-stringers aren’t beating Pittsburgh’s starters.
