"Mike Tomlin wants the ball in Lamar Jackson's hands": Former Lions QB drops eye-catching remark ahead of Ravens-Steelers clash
One of the two Saturday NFL games this week will feature Lamar Jackson and his Baltimore Ravens taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers led by coach Mike Tomlin.
Jackson has struggled against the division foe Steelers in his career, to say the least. In seven career games played against Pittsburgh, Jackson has a 2-5 record, struggling to find a way to beat the black and gold. In those seven games, he's thrown for just 1,077 yards, five touchdowns and eight interceptions.
The Steelers will look to continue their recent success against Jackson and the Ravens. As they look to do so, former NFL quarterback and current ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlvosky urged Mike Tomlin's defense to prevent Jackson's dual offense.
He thinks the Steelers should pressure Lamar Jackson and put the game/ball in his hands and have the Ravens rely on him for a win.
On Thursday in ESPN's "Get Up," Orlovsky said:
"This is the X's and O's of it. Pittsburgh is going to put an extra person down to the football and they're going to say, you're not going to run the ball on us. We're not going to allow you to be two-dimensional. We want you to be one-dimensional. I honestly believe in my gut. Mike Tomlin wants the ball in Lamar Jackson's hands. He wants him to feel that pressure. He wants him to kind of play to the style that they force Lamar to play."
"And I don't think that Mike Tomlin, again... he 100% respects him, but he thinks he's got his number. He thinks there's a certain style of play to Teddy's tape, that compression of the pocket that he can control the game. He does not want to play with two safeties deep and say "Baltimore, run the football on us.""
Lamar Jackson is having arguably the best season of his career with 3,580 passing yards, 34 touchdown passes and just three interceptions. Jackson did struggle against Pittsburgh earlier this season in the team's 18-16 Week 11 loss, completing 16-of-33 passes for 207 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Saturday's game between the Steelers and Ravens could determine who wins the AFC North
Heading into Saturday's AFC North showdown, the Pittsburgh Steelers enter the game in first place in the division with a 10-4 record. It's a two-way race for the division as the Baltimore Ravens head into this week with a 9-5 record. Both teams will likely make the playoffs.
If Pittsburgh wins, they'll have a two-game lead in the division with two games left in the regular season. If they lose, Baltimore will tie them with both teams sitting at 10-5 and having two weeks left to see who comes out on top of the division.
The Ravens are currently 6.5-point home favorites for Saturday's game which will be played at 4:30 p.m.
Will Lamar Jackson and the Ravens pick up a much-needed win against the Steelers, or will they continue to have Jackson's number?