Ravens to sit Lamar Jackson, start Robert Griffin III at QB against Steelers in finale
The Pittsburgh Steelers were planning to prepare for Lamar Jackson to start at quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens in their season finale, but John Harbaugh took the ball out of his hands.
The Ravens coach announced Monday that Jackson is one of a handful of Pro Bowl players who will not play on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium. The others are running back Mark Ingram, guard Marshal Yanda, defensive tackle Brandon Williams and safety Earl Thomas.
Harbaugh said veteran backup Robert Griffin III will start, and third-stringer Trace McSorley, a rookie from Penn State, could see action.
When asked before the announcement was made how much of a difference it would make who played quarterback, Steelers inside linebacker Mark Barron called Jackson “the most dangerous player in the league.” The second-year quarterback has passed for 3,127 yards with 36 touchdowns and five interceptions and rushed for 1,206 yards and seven touchdowns this season and is the frontrunner for NFL MVP.
“It probably changes the game a little bit,” Barron said. “Honestly, to us, it doesn’t really matter. We’ve got to go out here and win this game and do what we can do to get in these playoffs.”
Griffin, a Heisman Trophy winner at Baylor, was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, won rookie of the year honors and made the Pro Bowl with the Washington Redskins before a number of injuries.
Griffin has completed 12 of 17 passes for 129 yards with a touchdown and an interception and has rushed for 20 yards on 12 carries this season.
He is 0-2 as a starter against the Steelers, losing to them in 2012 with the Redskins and in 2016 with the Cleveland Browns. In those two games, Griffin has completed 60.8% of his passes for 409 yards and three touchdowns with one interception and rushing for 40 yards on 11 carries.
“I haven’t seen much of him, but he’s still a guy that can run around a little bit and still deliver some accurate balls,” Barron said. “We’ve got to prepare to go out and try to get this ‘W.’ ”
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Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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