Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson only has five career starts against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Only one of those starts has come at home, and it’s very notable which one. The only time he has started against the Steelers in Baltimore, it wasn’t in front of a home crowd. Or any crowd, for that matter, because it was the COVID-19 year with no fans.
In other words, Saturday will mark the first time in Lamar Jackson’s career in which he gets to play the Steelers in front of a home crowd. For various reasons, he missed the Ravens’ home games against the Steelers in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. That is a pretty big deal, as there’s a reason why home-field advantage is a thing. And I’m sure he will appreciate any edge he can get, especially in light of his history in the rivalry.
“Just being in front of our crowd, Flock Nation, just being in the building, knowing it’s a rival game, knowing what’s at stake for us, I feel like the momentum, the momentum from our crowd, will just give us what we need – that extra boost”, Jackson said about playing the Steelers in front of Ravens fans via the team’s website.
Now, cheering fans alone can’t explain why Jackson has never beaten the Steelers with their starting quarterback. He is 1-4 against them, his only win against Mason Rudolph, who exited the game with a concussion. The Ravens eventually bested rookie Devlin Hodges in overtime making his NFL debut.
In his 86 starts against everyone but the Steelers, Lamar Jackson is 66-19. For his career, the Ravens quarterback is 1,637-of-2,516 for 19,467 yards, 159 touchdowns, and 48 interceptions. He has a career 1.9-percent interception rate. But against the Steelers, with eight picks, that rate is 4.8 percent.
Jackson also owns a 6.3-percent touchdown rate, which against the Steelers is just 3 percent. He also takes sacks at a considerably higher rate and has zero rushing touchdowns. Frankly, the way the Ravens have struggled against the Steelers with Jackson is an enigma.
And once again, no, just playing in front of a home crowd isn’t going to magically solve it. But it won’t hurt, either, and Jackson is a superb player on a very good team. Playing at home, the Ravens have an excellent chance of beating the Steelers on Saturday. In fact, in spite of their horrid recent history, they are favored to win by a signficant margin.
The last time Lamar Jackson played the Steelers in the Ravens’ stadium, he did record a fourth-quarter comeback. Down four, he threw a touchdown pass to Marquise Brown with 12 minutes to play. The only problem is the Steelers answered a game-winning drive of their own. And nobody cheered, but not just because it was in Baltimore. Because there were no fans. Except for Lil’ Mo.
