Ravens-Steelers preview: Lamar Jackson back in the playoff spotlight for Baltimore

The only thing Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s critics have to hold onto anymore is his lack of a Super Bowl appearance.

He has done everything else. He has two MVPs and might win a third for his historic 2024 season. But until he at least makes a Super Bowl, that will be a big hole in his résumé.

“After we lost in that AFC championship game last year, I just sat at my locker over there,” Jackson said, via the team’s site. “I was thinking, ‘We’ve got to do this all over again? We’ve got to play 17 games again, just to see if we’re good enough to make it back?’

“Now we’re back in the playoffs. Now it’s all about this wild card game.”

Jackson’s pursuit of an elusive AFC championship starts Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The matchup

No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) at No. 3 Baltimore Ravens (12-5)

M&T Bank Stadium

Saturday, 8 p.m. ET

How to watch Steelers at Ravens

The game can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

Betting odds

The Steelers are a 9.5-point underdog at BetMGM. When the teams met in Week 16 at Baltimore, the Ravens were just a 7-point favorite. The Ravens won that game 34-17. The total is 43.5 points.

X factor

On Dec. 1, the Steelers scored 44 points and beat the Bengals to improve to 9-3. Pittsburgh has played five games since then, went 1-4 and star wide receiver George Pickens has a combined 50 yards. He missed three games with a hamstring injury and hasn’t made much impact since then, including a zero-catch, three-drop game in the regular season finale. Pittsburgh’s offense looks broken and it has almost no chance to beat the Ravens if Pickens has another no-show game. Pittsburgh doesn’t have much in the passing game other than Pickens, who is unreliable yet capable of big games.

How the Steelers can win

The Steelers did beat the Ravens once this season. On Nov. 17 they won 18-16. They flustered Lamar Jackson into completing just 16 of 33 passes. The Steelers have had success against Jackson. Before the Ravens won the Week 16 rematch, the Ravens had lost four of Jackson’s five career starts against the Steelers and he had just five passing touchdowns to eight interceptions. Jackson played well against the Steelers in the Ravens’ 34-17 win a few weeks ago, but they’ve shown they can force Jackson into mistakes better than any other opponent. A few mistakes early, and perhaps Jackson starts to feel some of that playoff pressure again.

How the Ravens can win

When the Ravens beat the Steelers in Week 16, Lamar Jackson had three passing touchdowns and Derrick Henry had 162 yards rushing. It’s hard to keep one of them down and if both are clicking, the Ravens are dangerous. But the difference for the Ravens over the second half of the season has been their defense. They held the Steelers to one touchdown on six second-half possessions, and had a game-clinching pick-6 from Marlon Humphrey. The Steelers offense has been slumping badly, and if the Ravens defense continues its hot streak then Pittsburgh’s only shot will be to win an ugly, low-scoring game.

Prediction

The Steelers-Ravens rivalry rarely has blowouts. It seemed that every game for many years was decided by three points. Mike Tomlin is a great coach and the Steelers still have a fantastic defense, which makes it harder to buy that Baltimore will blow out Pittsburgh. But the Ravens have a tremendous offense and a defense that is catching up to it. It’s hard to pick a Steelers team that hasn’t even led a game since Dec. 8. But Pittsburgh will find a way to keep it somewhat competitive, for a while anyway. Ravens 23, Steelers 13