How the Ravens can solve Lamar Jackson’s problems against the Steelers

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — At the start of Wednesday’s practice, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken was upset with how the players approached a ball-security drill.

After sprinting across the field, Monken put the ball in one of his wide receiver’s hands and began trying to rip the ball away and hit it.

When the Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, Fox), all talk will focus on Jackson’s 1-4 record against his biggest rival. But Baltimore thinks it knows the solution to Jackson’s Steelers struggles.

“It starts with us,” Monken said. “Guys have to play well around him; (you) can’t turn it over; (you) can’t have penalties that put you behind the sticks against good teams or you’re going to struggle.”

When Jackson has faced Pittsburgh, he hasn’t looked like a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player. But Jackson’s supporting cast has also stumbled.

In Jackson’s five starts against the Steelers, the Ravens have lost six fumbles, dropped a dozen passes and committed 51 penalties.

Jackson hasn’t seen a lot of film from the Ravens’ 18-16 loss to the Steelers in Week 11. He remembers the three turnovers and 12 penalties from Baltimore’s lowest-scoring game of the season.

“(It was) just self-inflicted wounds,” Jackson said. “(We had) penalties, turnovers, (trying to get) back on track (on) second-and-long, third-and-long, first-and-long. (With) things like that, we kill drives before they even going on and I saw film about it.”

Jackson added: “Last week (against the New York Giants) we did a better job. So (with) us just being on schedule with those guys, I feel like we’re going to be where we need to be.”

On Saturday, Jackson will either end Pittsburgh’s dominance over Baltimore or the Steelers will win the AFC North title on the Ravens’ home field. Baltimore (9-5) can clinch a playoff spot and first place in the division to Pittsburgh (10-4) with a win, but they’ll likely need Jackson to cut down on his mistakes, too.

The Steelers are the only team against whom Jackson has thrown more interceptions (eight) than touchdown passes (five). Jackson also fumbled three times against the Steelers while posting career lows in QBR (39) and completion rate (56.7%) against them.

Pittsburgh’s success stems from its aggressiveness. The Steelers have pressured Jackson on 31% of his dropbacks and sacked him 22 times, including 8.5 by TJ Watt.

“They created plays against us,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “They’ve had sacks; they’ve had some timely sacks, some timely turnovers and timely stops. They’ve been able to do that and that’s what it is. That’s what winning games is all about. They’ve a good job of that.”

In Jackson’s seven-year career, Baltimore has been held under 20 points and 350 total yards eight times. But three of those games came against Pittsburgh.

Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers was asked what the Steelers’ defense is doing to make it difficult for Baltimore.

“Nothing,” Flowers said. “(The Steelers) don’t really do (anything) that really stresses me out, to be honest. You have some (down) games and (the Week 11 game) ended up being that game, so we’ll find out of it when we get there This week we got them, so I’m looking forward to that.’

Still, the Ravens have been held under 20 points in eight straight meetings against the Steelers. The last time Baltimore scored over 20 was in 2020 when they lost 24-28.

But this is an offense that has a chance to be remembered as the best in franchise history. The Ravens, who currently lead the NFL with 424.1 yards per game, have never finished No. 1 in their 29-year existence.

Baltimore also ranks in the top three in the league in rushing (2nd), passing (3rd), scoring (3rd), third-down conversion rate (2nd) and red-zone efficiency (1st). Jackson is surrounded by the likes of running back Derrick Henry, who is second in the NFL with 1,474 yards rushing; Mark Andrews, who is tied with the San Francisco 49ers’ George Kittle for most touchdowns by tight ends (eight); and Flowers, who is 84 yards away from becoming the team’s first 1,000-yard receiver since 2021.

Asked if he thinks the Ravens should have more answers for this Steelers defense, Jackson replied, “I think so. I think we should have answers. I bet I’ll have an answer for you after the game .”