Pundit Says Steelers Game Is Most Important Regular-Season Matchup of Lamar Jackson's Career
The Ravens need to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers at home this Saturday to keep their hopes of winning the AFC North alive, but the game has significance beyond it being a battle for first place.
It's the most important regular season game of Lamar Jackson's career, according to Press Box’s Glenn Clark.
"Jackson is 1-4 in his career against the Steelers," Clark wrote. "He's never played well in a win in the rivalry. And while it's certainly not specifically his fault that the Ravens lost the Week 11 matchup, the context is staggering. Jackson posted a quarterback rating of 154.6 in the Week 15 win against the Giants. It was his 11th game of the season with a QB rating in the triple digits. The Steelers held him to a 66.1 rating, which wasn't just his lowest of the season, it was 15 points lower than his second lowest. It was the lowest rating he had posted since … the previous time he played the Steelers.
"Jackson absolutely has to rewrite his history against the Steelers. Well, he at least desperately needs to write a new chapter in history against the Steelers. The entire team does, of course."
To Clark's point, Jackson isn't the only player on the team who could use a win over the Steelers. The Ravens have lost eight of their past nine against their archrival.
"There are lots of anomalies in there, sure, but [the Steelers'] Week 11 win wasn't," Clark wrote. "It had nothing to do with COVID or backup quarterbacks or receivers dropping footballs. It was the Pittsburgh Steelers getting the Ravens away from what the Ravens do so well. It was what led to cornerback Marlon Humphrey saying 'they've kind of had our number' after the game.
"It's a cloud hanging over this organization. Another loss to the Steelers would be crushing. A single win won't deliver them a Super Bowl run. But it would lift a 10,000-pound weight off their collective shoulders."
Rich Eisen: Ravens Shouldn't Be Overlooked As Super Bowl Contender
There has been a lot of talk about this past Sunday's game between the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions being a Super Bowl preview. The Philadelphia Eagles and two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs are firmly in the Super Bowl conversation as well.
The Ravens are flying under the radar, but NFL Network's Rich Eisen believes they are as capable of making a Super Bowl run as any of the aforementioned teams.
"Any given Sunday it could be one of those Lamar days on you. That's what they need to hope for," Eisen said on “The Rich Eisen Show.” "And then Derrick Henry runs you over. And then Roquan [Smith] makes a play. And Kyle Hamilton makes a play. And those four up front make a play. Justin Tucker makes the kicks. And they can win it all. You'd have to include Baltimore in the category of 'they can win it all.' You have to.
"I think everybody's lost track of the Ravens. We're all looking at the bright, shiny object in [Buffalo], the Chiefs being the two-time defending champs. I think people have lost the hailing distance of the Ravens."
Mark Andrews Talks About Preparation for Playing Three Games in 11 Days
The Ravens are one of four teams in the midst of playing three games in 11 days. Tight end Mark Andrews spoke with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer after Baltimore's win over the New York Giants Sunday about preparing his body for the grueling stretch.
"It's the little things," Andrews said. "I've already started to recover. I did six minutes in the cold tub after this game trying to reset the body knowing that it's a short week. Just taking time at the nighttime to put in the massages, do every little thing to make sure that by game time Saturday, I'll be jumping out of my skin."
Andrews said it helps that this past Sunday's game was in New Jersey and the team traveled back to Baltimore by train.
"There are benefits to it," he said. "You're not going 30,000 feet in the air, with the dehydration and stuff like that. That part's going to be good."
Steelers Writer Doesn't Expect George Pickens to Play Against Ravens
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said yesterday that wide receiver George Pickens (hamstring) hasn't been ruled out for Saturday's game, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac said he doesn't expect Pickens to play.
"The problem is you're talking about three games in 11 days. … So that just narrows his window even more so based on his type of injury and the timetable," Dulac said on the Steelers’ flagship radio station. "I'm not going to sit here and tell you he won't; just not expecting him to play."
Pickens, who has missed the past two games due to the injury, leads the Steelers in receiving with 55 catches for 850 yards in 12 games. He had 89 yards on a season-high eight catches in Pittsburgh's win over the Ravens in Week 11.
The other major Steelers injury to monitor this week is outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who has a low ankle sprain. Tomlin said yesterday that he’s “optimistic” that Watt will play.
