PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was said simply by Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh Monday that if you want to win the division, it comes down to division games. It’s the first division game of the season for the Steelers as the Ravens have had three very interesting matchups.
The Ravens are coming off a Thursday night win against the Bengals in one of the more exciting games of the 2024 season. Their first game against Cincy was also a classic. Ravens started the season at Kansas City and came within an inch of overtime, followed by a stunning home loss to the Raiders. Since then
· W, 28-25 at Dallas-rushing for 274 yards
· W, 35-10 Buffalo-rushing for 271 yards
· W/OT, 41-38 at Cincinnati-throwing for 345 yards/175 rushing
· W, 30-23 Washington-308 passing/176 rushing
· W, 41-21 at Tampa-264 passing/244 rushing
· L, 29-24 at Cleveland-at the time, season low 124 yards rushing
· W, 41-10 Denver-269 passing-3TD/127 rushing-2 TD
· W, 35-34 Cincinnati-290 passing-4TD/99 rushing-TD
Baltimore’s receiving corps is deeper (adding former Steelers 1,000-yard receiver Diontae Johnson at the trade deadline), including multiple pass-catching threats at tight end. They also have Derrick Henry. He has an old-school 1,000 yards rushing, 1,120 in just 10 games. The nine-year pro leads the league in rushing attempts (184), yards, and touchdowns (12). The 30-year-old also has the longest run of the season, 87 yards, and leads the league at 6.1 per attempt.
If there is an area where John Harbaugh is quickly trying to improve, it’s giving up the deep ball. They are worst in the NFL, allowing 47 pass plays of 20 yards or longer. It comes mostly from the middle, intermediate and deep plays. It’s not just allowing receivers behind them, it’s not finishing tackles. Harbaugh called it below the line and the one area he knows opposing teams are targeting.
At the trade deadline, the Ravens added former two-time Pro Bowl corner Tre’Davious White. He is expected to play in some rotational role against the Steelers. Harbaugh said he and the players spent the weekend working the pass-game problem.
Got to figure Russell Wilson sees it, along with the Steelers coaching staff. The Steelers have been much better pushing the ball downfield. Harbaugh is aware.
“He’s making plays in the passing game,” Harbaugh said of Wilson. “He’s doing a good job in boots, play-action, drop-back passes. He’s using the full depth of the field. He’s always been known for throwing a ‘Russell Wilson deep ball’. He does that. He gets out and scrambles around and makes some throws, Just kind of doing what he’s always done and it’s kind of impressive.”
Harbaugh’s quarterback is the best in the NFL once again. Lamar Jackson is completing 69.1% of his passes for 24 touchdowns to only two interceptions. He has 35 plays of at least 20 yards and a quarterback ranking lapping the league at 123.2. He’s also 21st overall in the NFL in rushing with 538 yards and an insane 5.9 yards-per-rush average.
The Ravens head coach said Jackson has really improved in huddle communication this season and greatly improved in his pre-snap responsibilities and just operating plays at a higher level.
However, Jackson’s worst career quarterback rating (66.8) is against the Steelers. In six games, two wins and four losses with a 59% completion, 870 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions. He doesn’t have a rushing TD against the Steelers either in his career. The last meeting was early October 2023, 22 of 38, 238 yards and an interception in a 17-10 Baltimore loss.
“They play well against us and we haven’t played well against them,” Harbaugh said. “As far as moving the ball and scoring points. This is a new game. We don’t live in the past. We don’t live in the past game, in the past record. None of that matters, it’s the next game.”
Harbaugh is 15-18 in his career against the Steelers, it does matter. As does this one Sunday.