Ryan Clark fires warning to Lamar Jackson ahead of massive clash against Steelers
Reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens will travel to the Acrisure Stadium on Sunday to take on division rivals Pittsburgh Steelers in a battle for the top spot in AFC North standings. Both teams are coming into this game on the back of one-point wins in Week 10, with the visitors beating the Cincinnati Bengals 35-34 and the hosts edging out the Washington Commanders 28-27.
Jackson had his way against the Bengals' defense and filled the stat sheet in a stellar display. He finished with 290 passing yards, 33 rushing yards, and four passing touchdowns. Cincinnati's defensive line could neither get enough pressure on the quarterback nor keep him in the pocket to stop him from hurting them as a rusher.
However, Steelers icon and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark believes Pittsburgh will have a much better gameplan for a dual-threat quarterback like Jackson as they already showcased in their win over the Commanders in Week 10. On NFL on ESPN, he said:
"I think about last week, [the Steelers] using some of the stuff you've seen them use against Lamar, [they used it against] Jayden [Daniels]. Having those great outside linebackers and focusing on Lamar as a priority in the run. If they don't have the dive, if they have the quarterback, they run straight to Lamar Jackson. They give him no option to get outside."
Clark also stressed the importance of other Ravens playmakers stepping up against the Steelers.
"I think there's so much of a focus on stopping Lamar, that you have to hope that Derrick Henry can win... Lamar is going to need his teammates in order to beat this team."
The Steelers flexed their defensive prowess against Jayden Daniels and held the rookie quarterback to only five rush yards, 46 fewer than his season average before that game. If they can force Jackson to stay in the pocket, they could limit his impact on proceedings, as they have to great effect in the past.
Lamar Jackson's record vs. Steelers: Pittsburgh is QB's Achilles heel
Lamar Jackson has a terrific 17-5 record against the Ravens division rivals, Bengals and Cleveland Browns. However, the quarterback has a dismal 1-3 record against the Steelers, with his only win coming in the 2019 season. He has since lost three straight games against Pittsburgh.
Since becoming the full-time starting quarterback in 2019, Jackson has missed six games against his team's arch-nemesis; four due to injury and the other two because the Ravens had wrapped up the first seed and opted to rest him before the playoffs.
His only win in 2019 was a 26-23 overtime victory, in a game where he threw three interceptions and the Steelers played with two quarterbacks after starter Mason Rudolph suffered an injury, forcing Pittsburgh to field Devlin Hodges for most of the second half.
In four starts against the Steelers, Jackson has averaged 214.5 passing yards and only 58.8 rushing yards. He has four passing touchdowns, no rushing touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
The Ravens will likely need their quarterback to have a much better game than he usually does against Pittsburgh to stand a chance of beating them and ascending to the top of the AFC North standings.