Lamar Jackson single-handedly lost this game against the Steelers
The Baltimore Ravens dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers in just about every phase of the game on Sunday. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to pick up a key victory and it’s all thanks to quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Sure, there are plenty of other places where a finger can get pointed. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s questionable play call at the end of the game deserves some critique. The defense had a bit of a collapse in the second half. The officials didn’t do Baltimore any favors. But the most important guy on the field — Jackson — caused the most damage to the Ravens’ chances.
Jackson committed four turnovers on the day, with two more nearly going Pittsburgh’s way. Three of those turnovers effectively took a minimum of 13 points off the board in favor of Baltimore and were the deciding factor in who won Sunday.
1 – Jackson’s first turnover came on the third play of the game and his second pass attempt, seeing the Steelers defender return his interception to the end zone for a pick-six.
2 – The second turnover was a fumble in the first quarter, losing the ball on Pittsburgh’s four-yard line, costing the Ravens a field goal at the very least.
3 – Jackson threw his second interception of the game on his first throw of the second half. Picked off deep in Baltimore’s territory, at the 21-yard line, the Steelers were effectively gifted a minimum of a field goal once again. However, they found the end zone, putting up seven points on Jackson’s mistake.
Unfortunately for Jackson and the Ravens, the Steelers turned both interceptions into touchdowns, giving Pittsburgh 14 free points while taking points off the board for Baltimore. In a game that came down to a four-point margin of victory, the pick-six alone was a game-killer for the Ravens before even considering Jackson’s other errors. In reality, had Jackson remained turnover-free, Baltimore would have likely won the game 31-14.
Some fans will be quick to blame other things for this loss beyond just Jackson’s errors. But for the few things that Baltimore could have been better at beyond Jackson, the reigning MVP was given a lot more help than he took advantage of.
Baltimore’s rushing attack was gouging Pittsburgh all game long. Between the rushing efforts of J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Jackson; the Ravens’ ground attack put up more yards than the Steelers’ entire offense. As I covered in another article, Baltimore’s running backs alone were gaining an average of 6.45 yards-per-carry on the day.
For as beat up as the Ravens’ offensive line was in this game, Jackson had plenty of time to throw. According to Next Gen Stats, Jackson had an average of 2.87 seconds to throw — the seventh-most of Week 8. Too often, Jackson held on to the ball, either looking at the incoming pass rush or anticipating hits even when he had space around him.
For those that are quick to blame the receiving targets for limiting Jackson, they had a pretty decent game off the stat sheet. Obviously, Willie Snead picked up his play this week, catching five passes for 106 yards. But tight end Mark Andrews was apparently open enough himself, with Next Gen Stats saying he had an average separation of 4.2 yards against the Steelers — tied for the eight-most of Week 8 in the entire NFL. Snead had 3.7 yards on average, which ranked 15th-most.
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Of course, it’s important to point out just how impressive the defense was as well. Barring Jackson’s errors costing Baltimore 14 points on the scoreboard, the Ravens’ defense effectively held Pittsburgh to just 14 points in Week 8. That means Baltimore wasn’t asking or needing Jackson to be an MVP in this game, just simply not lose it. Unfortunately, as I predicted would happen a few weeks ago, Jackson’s play eventually cost the Ravens a game they should have won.
In the end, it was Jackson’s mistakes that put the Ravens in a position where a bad play call, a messed up clock, and a tired defense could help give the game away. Had he been little more than a game manager under center in Week 8, Baltimore seemingly walks away with a dominant victory, dethroning Pittsburgh and looking like one of the best teams in the NFL again.
I think it’s important to note Jackson isn’t a bad quarterback by any means. He won the MVP award last season, proving himself to be among the elite players in the NFL. But we’re not seeing that version of Jackson this season and it’s up to Baltimore’s coaching staff to figure out why and correct it in a hurry. There’s still time for the Ravens’ offense to turn it around but it really all begins and ends with Jackson’s play. If he plays better, Baltimore could be unstoppable. If he doesn’t, winning a playoff game seems like it could be out of reach this season.
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6 takeaways from Ravens' 28-24 loss to Steelers
