Steelers will try to work some defensive magic against Ravens QB Lamar Jackson

Effusive in his praise of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, Mike Tomlin recently compared him to the world’s most renowned magician.

“He’s Houdini at times,” Tomlin said.

Tomlin also unwittingly exposed one of Jackson’s flaws when he made that observation. For all of the deception and trickery Jackson brings to the Ravens offense with his scrambling and mobility, he also has — like Houdini — pulled a disappearing act in some games this season.

In his most recent performance, Jackson compiled the worst passer rating as a starter over his four-year NFL career. He earned a 46.5 rating while throwing four interceptions last Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

In his previous start, a 22-10 loss to Miami, Jackson was sacked four times and held to 39 yards rushing. Earlier in the year, he was sacked five times and completed fewer than 50% of his passes in a 41-17 home loss to Cincinnati. Heck, even the winless Detroit Lions sacked Jackson four times this season.

Despite helping the Ravens craft an AFC North-leading 8-3 record, his 12 interceptions this season are twice as many as he threw in 2019 when he was named NFL MVP. And Jackson’s 15 touchdowns are less than half the 36 he tossed that year.

Still, the Steelers are expecting to get the best from Jackson when they face him Sunday at Heinz Field. And that comes from a team that has held Jackson to a 59.2 passer rating — his lowest against any opponent — while sacking him nine times and recording five interceptions in four career meetings.

“I’m sure they are looking at those films,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said. “They’re going to look and see what we did and try to combat what we did. They’re going to look at what they’ve done in the past, the last two or three games, and they’re going to game plan us by that. Hopefully, we can give them problems, but we’ll see.”

The Steelers, though, aren’t sure how many veteran defensive players they’ll have available to defend Jackson. Cornerback Joe Haden will miss his third consecutive game because of an injury. The Steelers are missing two starting defensive linemen, and Cameron Heyward sat out practice Friday with an illness. T.J. Watt missed an entire week of practice but was activated Saturday from the reserve/covid list and would provide a boost for a defense that has allowed 82 points and 903 yards in back-to-back losses.

“We’re probably as familiar with playing him as anyone,” Tomlin said, “but we don’t seek comfort or find comfort in that. This season’s collection presents a different set of challenges, and I see a shift in terms of some of the things that they do.”

When the Steelers take the field Sunday, they may have as few as two — and no more than four — defensive starters remaining from the lineup that held Jackson in check from the November 2020 meeting with the Ravens. Safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds, and Watt and Heyward (if healthy) comprise that list.

“Past success does not carry over,” Heyward said. “Every year you are trying to get better. We can look at what we did technique-wise and say this is what we did in the past to help. But that is not indicative of getting the job done on Sunday.”

Jackson’s strength, of course, is his mobility. He leads all quarterbacks and is ninth among all rushers with 707 yards, and his 5.7 yards per carry is tied for third in the league. Jackson is on pace for his third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season, an unheard of statistic for a quarterback.

“He’s one of a kind,” said linebacker Joe Schobert, who faced Jackson when he played with Cleveland and Jacksonville before joining the Steelers this year. “There’s nobody in the NFL who really comes close to his skill set. He has a very specific skill set, the offense is catered to him, and they do a good job of running the football, using play-action passes, and he can get the ball out there to his weapons.

“It’s going to be about containing him in the pocket and not letting him extend plays.”

The Dolphins may have provided a blueprint for success against Jackson when they ran “Cover-0” on 31 of his 50 dropbacks in Week 10. The constant pressure, in which the safety vacates zone coverage and leaves the cornerback in single coverage, enabled Miami to pressure Jackson 11 times, hit him on seven occasions and produce four sacks.

That approach, though, has its drawbacks.

“If you blitz him, you’ve got to get him because you’re leaving your corners on an island,” Heyward said. “If they have to defend for a long time, that’s not a good decision. For outside linebackers, it’s keeping them on our inside shoulder, getting pressure up the middle, not creating those vertical lanes. It’s a group effort because he stresses a defense at all three levels.”

After sitting out a game against the Chicago Bears because of a non-covid illness, Jackson returned against Cleveland was lucky to escape with a 16-10 victory. He was forced into throwing a career-high four interceptions.

While the Steelers talked of the need to flush their performance against Cincinnati earlier in the day, Jackson took a different tack.

“I let it fester,” he said. “I need to feel it. I need to feel that pain.”

Now, Jackson hopes to inflict some on the Steelers. History may be on his side. He has a career 13-1 record in regular-season games played in December and January, winning 12 in a row.

That’s another ominous sign for the Steelers, who will face Jackson again Jan. 9 in the regular-season finale. Like Houdini, he may have too many tricks up his sleeve for the Steelers to count.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Tomlin said.