Lamar Jackson and Aaron Rodgers lead the Ravens and Steelers in a pivotal showdown on Sunday, but does anybody want to win? It doesn’t seem so, as often as not this season, as both teams are literally at .500 right now. Each sitting at 6-6, the Ravens and Steelers know this game has very high stakes. Win this game, and you likely win the division.
Unfortunately for the Ravens, Lamar Jackson is coming into this game on one of the worst stretches of his career. For the first time since he became a starter, he has gone three games without throwing a touchdown pass. And that’s worth noting, because that three-game stretch snapped the NFL’s longest active streak of games with a touchdown pass.
Before the recent slide, Jackson had thrown a touchdown pass in every game since Week 10 of the 2023 season. He threw at least one touchdown in every game last season and continued that six games into this.
But now he’s gone 82 pass attempts over three-plus games without throwing a touchdown pass. Now, that’s actually not the longest stretch of his career in terms of pass attempts. Back in 2019, he went 92 pass attempts without throwing a touchdown pass. But that was only over a two-plus game stretch, not three.
Although the Ravens are 2-1 in this current stretch, Lamar Jackson hasn’t been himself. In that span, he is 44-for-80 passing for 592 yards with 0 touchdowns to 3 interceptions. He has only rushed for 48 yards on 17 attempts and has taken nine sacks, losing two of three fumbles.
Really, minus his four-touchdown performance in his return from injury earlier this season, Jackson hasn’t been himself for a while. The Ravens actually managed a five-game winning streak thanks to the defense turning things around. Over a six-game span, they held each opponent to under 20 points.
Lamar Jackson has continued to be bothered by minor injuries, regularly missing at least one day of practice or at least being a limited participant. The Ravens have even gotten in trouble for incorrectly classifying his level of participation on the injury report.
The Steelers, of course, would be foolish to think they’ll be getting a lesser version of Lamar Jackson. And Jackson hasn’t even played anywhere near his best when facing the Steelers. But right now, this defense could lose to Tyler Huntley, Anthony Brown, or Ryan Mallett.
And the Steelers’ offense is not faring much better. With Aaron Rodgers injured, they have crawled to a snail’s pace of efficiency. Yet they have been a Jekyll-and-Hyde team all season. And both the Steelers and Ravens fully understand what’s on the line on Sunday. Whatever version of Lamar Jackson is out there, they have to contain him—and Derrick Henry, too.
