It is rare that one of the best rivalries in the NFL is so one sided for a sustained period of time, but that’s exactly where we are at with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Even while the Ravens have been the much better team since 2020, they are getting crushed by the Steelers. That continued in their first matchup of the 2024 season.
Winning eight of the past nine against the Ravens leaves little doubt that the Steelers absolutely have their number. Dating back further to 2016, the Ravens have won five of the last 17 games.
Most of that era coincides with Lamar Jackson’s tenure in Baltimore, but NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt says it also speaks to the coaching of Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh.
“Listen, Lamar’s great, you gotta be able to beat the Steelers,” Brandt said via NFL Network’s Good Morning Football. “…In your division, you gotta be the man. I love Lamar and I hope as they turn this thing around you love Lamar. But if we love Lamar, we have to respect him enough to say, dude, you’re not playing well against your biggest rival. And by the way, your coach is getting circles ran around you by his biggest rival. There’s problems in Baltimore.”
Even as Jackson has progressed as a passer in a big way, the Steelers decided to commit themselves to stopping the run. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin was very open about that during his Friday appearance on NFL Network. They managed to limit Derrick Henry to just 65 yards and a touchdown and Jackson to just 46 yards on four carries. It was one of the Ravens’ worst rushing performances of the season.
Some coaches may have been scared away by the Ravens’ explosive passing game, but Mike Tomlin and the Steelers still set things up to make Jackson beat them with his arm and make sure he wasn’t comfortable in the pocket. The plan largely worked with just 16 points scored by the league’s No. 1 offense that was previously scoring 32 points per game.
Until this recent stretch of Pittsburgh dominance, the series history between Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh dating back to 2008 was pretty even. Now, Tomlin has a massive 21-15 lead including a 2-1 edge in the postseason.
Whatever you credit this difference to, Tomlin deserves a lot of credit for consistently having his team ready for one of the NFL’s best franchises over the past several years.
