Through his first seven NFL seasons, Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, period.
He’s already won two NFL MVP awards and is on pace for a third this season. Jackson consistently makes highlight-reel plays, is an elite-level passer and is exceptionally dangerous as a runner, giving teams fits week after weeks.
Every team except the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jackson, who will battle the Steelers Sunday at Acrisure Stadium, hasn’t figured out how to play well against the Steelers. In six career starts against the Steelers, Jackson is just 2-4. He’s completed just 78-of-132 passes in those six games for 870 yards.
In those matchups, he has just four passing touchdowns to seven interceptions and has just 262 rushing yards on 53 carries without finding the end zone and has been sacked 20 times.
Right now, the Steelers have his number, so there is a mental advantage entering Sunday’s matchup.
For Jackson, he’s unsure why he hasn’t played well against the Steelers, but he’s looking forward to getting another crack at them Sunday and getting on the right side of the rivalry.
“I don’t know what it is, man. It’s just that, I believe, that rival atmosphere,” Jackson said to reporters Wednesday regarding his struggles against the Steelers, according to video via the Ravens’ YouTube channel. “I believe last year we were supposed to have ’em, but things just didn’t go our way. You know, the football gods wasn’t on our side.
“But it’s a whole nother year, new year. I’m looking forward to the game.”
Last season the Ravens seemed to be in position to get over the hump against the Steelers with Jackson under center. In Week 5 at Acrisure Stadium, the Ravens were in control until Danny Smith’s special teams unit blocked a punt for a safety, kicker Chris Boswell hit a 25-yard field goal, and quarterback Kenny Pickett hit George Pickens on a deep shot for the eventual game-winning touchdown.
Prior to Pickens’ TD, Jackson and the Ravens imploded. Jackson threw an interception in the end zone to cornerback Joey Porter Jr., and on the Ravens’ next possession outside linebacker Alex Highsmith strip-sacked Jackson leading to a T.J. Watt fumble recovery. Then, for good measure, Watt sacked Jackson on the final offensive snap of the game to force a turnover on downs, handing the Steelers a 17-10 win.
Jackson didn’t play in the regular-season finale last season, which was another Steelers win, so he’s getting a shot at them for the first time since last October. He stated publicly that he’s unsure why he hasn’t been able to figure them out in the past, but right now he’s playing the best football of his career and is rolling.
He knows the Steelers have a great defense, so he’s looking forward to the test ahead of him. It would be a huge statement game for the MVP frontrunner if he can vanquish the Steelers.
