The Pittsburgh Steelers have had the Baltimore Ravens’ number lately. In the past eight meetings with the Ravens, the Steelers are 7-1 in a matchup that you don’t expect one team to consistently dominate. Despite Pittsburgh’s recent success against the Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson, who has just a 66.8 passer rating against the Steelers, head coach John Harbaugh said the Ravens aren’t thinking about the past as the two teams prepare to meet up in Week 11.
“I think that they played well against us, and we haven’t played well against them, in that sense, as far as moving the ball and scoring points and all that. So this is a new game, we don’t live in the past, we’re moving forward. We don’t live in the past game, we don’t live in the past record, none of that matters. It’s the next game, no matter what happens, you get ready for the next football game in the National Football League,” Harbaugh said via the Ravens’ YouTube Channel.
Harbaugh said the Ravens will look at it “scientifically” and go back and watch all the games to see what went wrong.
Pittsburgh has historically played really well against Jackson, who is 1-3 as a starter in his career against the Steelers with 870 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions. Right now though, Jackson is playing like one of the best quarterbacks of all time, as he’s already matched his 24 touchdown pass total from last season and has thrown for 1,140 yards with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions over his last four games. He’s also added 135 yards on the ground in that span.
Jackson hasn’t needed to use his legs as much this season with RB Derrick Henry, who’s already eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in the Baltimore backfield. Even though Pittsburgh has had a lot of success against Jackson and the Ravens, this is the best the Ravens offense has been in recent memory, and it’s a group that can really do some damage.
Where Pittsburgh might have an advantage is defense, as Baltimore’s passing defense has been poor this season, and that’s an area the Steelers can look to take advantage. But in a game that will have major implications for who winds up on top of the AFC North, the Ravens aren’t going to come into Acrisure Stadium scared or thinking of the past. Both teams have had this game circled on their calendar, and it’s one that might be the most important of the season so far for both teams.
You can throw out the record books heading into this one. While Pittsburgh’s recent success against Baltimore may be on the minds of many fans, the players and coaches are likely putting all that aside as they focus on this game.
