PITTSBURGH — Lamar Jackson has a 65-23 record as the Baltimore Ravens‘ starting quarterback. But he’s now 1-4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers following Sunday’s 18-16 loss to Baltimore’s arch rival.
Jackson and his teammate, running back and fellow league MVP candidate Derrick Henry, struggled Sunday against the Steelers’ second-ranked scoring defense. Jackson competed fewer than 50% of his passes, threw a costly interception and was stuffed on Baltimore’s 2-point attempt that would have tied the score with just over a minute left. Henry scored on a short touchdown run late in the first half, but he was still held to 65 yards on 13 carries (almost half of his rushing yards came on a 31-yard run that set up his score).
How did the Steelers do it? Pittsburgh safety and reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month Beanie Bishop Jr. offered some insight into the Steelers’ defensive game plan when it comes to stopping two of the NFL’s best offensive players, starting with Jackson, who hasn’t beaten the Steelers since Week 5 of the 2019 season.
“For the back end, just plaster your guy,” Bishop said during an interview with CBS Sports. “It’s kind of like playing street ball. Guys are moving around trying to get open, not really having too many routes, obviously, because he’s scrambling. For the rush guys, keep him in front of you, and inside you’re going to have help and other guys coming.”
As Bishop alluded to, it takes all three levels working in unison to contain Jackson, one of the most electric players the NFL has seen in its 105-year history. Jackson was only sacked twice, but he was under constant duress on Sunday. On his 2-point attempt, Jackson was corralled by Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who forced Jackson into trying a desperate heave that went awry.
Regarding Henry, Bishop said there success was both tangible and intangible. Some of it was fundamentals, but a lot of it was attitude when going head to head with King Henry.
“Being gap sound,” Bishop said. “Guys in their gap, winning their one-on-one matchups. Getting off their blocks and things like that, and most importantly, not being scared to tackle him. A lot his big runs on tape are guys being scared to tackle. … We’re not scared to tackle, and that showed in that we were able to limit big plays.”
On Sunday, the Steelers defense once again showed why it is one of the top-ranked units in the NFL. Conversely, Sunday’s game was another example of the Ravens coming up short in a game that they easily could have won. That fact wasn’t lost on Jackson, who struggled to hide his frustration following his most recent loss to Pittsburgh.
“We can’t be beating ourselves in these type of games,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to find a way to fix it. That shit is annoying.”
