Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens still haven’t figured out how to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
On Sunday, the Steelers’ defense held back Jackson and the NFL’s top-ranked offense, leading Pittsburgh to an 18-16 win. The victory came thanks to Chris Boswell’s six field goals, tying a franchise record.
“We had a lot of slow starts, if anything … a lot of penalties, turnovers and stuff like that,” Jackson said. “We can’t have that in these types of games and this environment. It’s a division game.”
The Steelers have now won seven of the last eight games against Baltimore. In fact, each of the last nine matchups between the two teams has been decided by seven points or fewer.
Jackson, Derrick Henry, and the rest of the Ravens’ offense never found their rhythm against Pittsburgh’s defense. Baltimore ended the game with season-low totals in both points and yards (329) and struggled with 12 penalties and three turnovers. Each of these mistakes led to Boswell’s field goals.
Jackson completed 16 of 33 passes for 207 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. He connected with Zay Flowers for a 16-yard touchdown with just 1:06 left, making it a 2-point game. However, the Ravens failed on their 2-point conversion attempt.
Henry also tied a franchise record, scoring his 15th rushing touchdown of the season, but he was held to just 65 yards and wasn’t on the field for the failed conversion.
“Our defense played great today,” Jackson said. “They held a great offense to 18 points and we just scored 16 points. We’ve been putting up all these points this season. That’s annoying.”
The Steelers seem to always have a strategy to contain Jackson. He leads the NFL in quarterback rating and touchdown passes, while also running the league’s most potent offense. However, Jackson is now 1-4 as a starter against the Steelers.
He has more NFL MVP awards (two) than wins against Pittsburgh. Jackson has thrown five touchdown passes and eight interceptions in games against them.
A fourth-quarter interception by Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson proved costly for Jackson and the Ravens.
With Pittsburgh leading 15-10, the Ravens forced a turnover when Marlon Humphrey intercepted Russell Wilson in the end zone. Jackson then ran for 25 yards on the first play after the turnover, but a 15-yard completion to Henry was called back due to a penalty for an ineligible man downfield.
On the next play, Payton Wilson intercepted Jackson, and Boswell eventually kicked his last field goal, a 50-yarder, putting Pittsburgh ahead 18-10.
“The penalties set us back too much,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
The mistakes started early for Baltimore. Henry fumbled on the second play of the game, and Justin Tucker missed two field goals in the first quarter. This was the first time Tucker had missed multiple kicks in a game since 2022.
“It’s frustrating,” Tucker said. “Especially when we know that these games come down to the wire like this one did today. I let a couple get away.”
Boswell kicked two field goals for the Steelers, a 32-yarder after Henry’s fumble and a 52-yard kick in the second quarter.
Later in the quarter, Henry finished a six-play, 80-yard drive with a touchdown to give the Ravens the lead. But Boswell added his third field goal of the half, a 32-yarder, after Isaiah Likely fumbled the ball, which was forced by former Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen.
“I feel like we were taking strides in the right direction and then something would happen,” Jackson said.
