Overcoming Lamar Jackson and the Ravens

Even if Roethlisberger stays healthy and everything goes perfectly for the Steelers in 2020, it would still be a tough task to win the AFC North.

The Baltimore Ravens, behind NFL MVP Lamar Jackson, won their last 12 games in 2019 on their way to a franchise-record 14 wins and 531 points scored. Jackson defined a dual-threat quarterback: he both set a quarterback record with 1,206 rushing yards and led the NFL with 36 passing touchdowns.

The Ravens made optimal use of Jackson’s strengths in their play-calling last season. Jackson ran the most read-option plays (173, 65 more than Arizona’s Kyler Murray), and the third-most play-action passes (163, behind Jared Goff and Carson Wentz). The Ravens had the most rushing attempts of any team since 1983, while their 3,296 rushing yards were the most of any team since the merger. They were the first team since the Barry Sanders-led 1997 Detroit Lions to gain 5.5 yards a carry among teams with at least 400 attempts.

The Steelers defense, though, actually suffocated Jackson the only time they played him in 2019. Jackson was held to his lowest passer rating of the season (54.9) when the two teams played in Week 5. He was sacked five times and intercepted three times. The Steelers held the lead until Justin Tucker made a 48-yard field goal with 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter to force overtime; the Ravens ended up winning 26-23.

Baltimore won again, 28-10, in Week 17, but Jackson did not play and Hodges went 9-25 for 95 yards. With Roethlisberger back, and with a defense reminiscent of their Super Bowl team in 2008, the Steelers and Ravens can renew the rivalry they enjoyed at the beginning of the decade. Between 2008-2018, the two teams split their meetings, 11-11. Of their 24 matchups in the last 12 seasons, 18 have been decided by seven or fewer points.