Ravens' Jackson and the NFL's top-ranked offense fail to stop AFC North rival Steelers -- again
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens still haven't figured out how to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pittsburgh's defense stifled Jackson and the NFL's top-ranked offense on Sunday as the Steelers topped their AFC North rivals behind Chris Boswell's franchise-tying six field goals in an 18-16 victory.
"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 won seven of the last eight games against Baltimore. Each of the last nine games between the teams has been decided by seven points or less.
Jackson, Derrick Henry and the rest of the offense never found their rhythm against Pittsburgh's defense. Baltimore finished with season lows in points and yards (329) and was slowed by 12 penalties and three turnovers. Those miscues all led to Boswell field goals.
Jackson completed 16 of 33 passes for 207 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He hit Zay Flowers for a 16-yard score with 1:06 left to move the Ravens within two, but the 2-point conversion attempt failed. Henry tied a franchise record when he scored his 15th rushing touchdown of the season, but he was limited to just 65 yards and wasn't on the field for the failed 2-point try.
"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 are one of the few teams that seem to regularly have an answer when facing Jackson. He leads the NFL in quarterback rating and touchdown passes, while masterfully running the league's most potent offense. But Jackson is now 1-4 as a starter against the Steelers. He has won more NFL MVP awards (two) than victories against Pittsburgh. Jackson has five scoring passes and eight interceptions against the Steelers.
A fourth-quarter interception by Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson was costly for Jackson and the Ravens.
With Pittsburgh leading 15-10, the Ravens forced a turnover when Marlon Humphrey picked off Russell Wilson in the end zone. Jackson ran for 25 yards on first down, but a 15-yard completion to Henry on second down was wiped out by a penalty for an ineligible man downfield.
Payton Wilson picked off Jackson on the next play and Boswell eventually kicked his last field goal, a 50-yarder to give Pittsburgh an 18-10 lead.
"The penalties set us back too much," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.
The miscues started early for the Ravens as Henry fumbled on the second play of the game, and Justin Tucker sent a pair of field goals wide left on consecutive series later in the first quarter. Tucker missed multiple kicks in a game for the first time 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 booted a pair of field goals for the Steelers, a 32-yarder from Henry's fumble and a 52-yard kick midway in the second quarter.
Later in the quarter, Henry capped a six-play, 80-yard series to give the Ravens the lead. But Boswell kicked his third field goal of the half, this one from 32 yards, as the Steelers capitalized on an Isaiah Likely fumble, forced by former Ravens' LB Patrick Queen.
"I feel like we were taking strides in the right direction and then something would happen," Jackson said.