With his team needing a two-point conversion to tie and only one minute remaining in Baltimore’s Week 11 matchup in Pittsburgh, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson ran to his left Sunday, looking for either a receiver or a running lane.
Neither immediately opened, yet the play was anything but over; Jackson, one of the league’s most elusive playmakers, has slipped a defense’s apparent straitjacket many times before on the way to becoming the NFL’s two-time Most Valuable Player.
But Sunday, all Jackson could do before he ran out of room toward the sideline was throw a desperate heave to no one in particular, which hit the ground. The play was a designed quarterback run, Jackson told reporters.
It wasn’t a one-play exception. By containing Jackson and his teammates all game, Pittsburgh pulled off in its 18-16 win what might be the hardest act in football — shutting down a Ravens offense so efficient in both the pass and the run that advanced statistics ranked as a statistical outlier.
Jackson, who entered Sunday among the betting favorites to win a third MVP award of his career, completed a season-low 48.4% of his passes for 207 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. His passer rating also was a season low. Pressured into four sacks, the most Baltimore has allowed since last season’s playoff loss to Kansas City, Jackson ran for only 46 yards.
The Steelers also bottled up Derrick Henry, the NFL’s leading rusher, who entered averaging 6.1 yards per rush and 112 yards per game. Henry finished with 65 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries. The Ravens, who lead the NFL in expected points added on third downs, converted only four of their 11 third downs against Pittsburgh.
This wasn’t a one-time issue. Though Jackson has sliced through much of the league during his career, he is now 1-4 against Pittsburgh, which has won eight of its last nine games against Baltimore overall.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh lamented two missed field goals by Justin Tucker that cost six points — Tucker, one of the most accurate kickers in history, is just 16-22 this season — and his team’s 12 penalties, including an illegal man downfield call that negated a large gain on the final drive. Jackson and a Ravens defense that didn’t allow a single touchdown almost made the self-inflicted mistakes moot. Instead, he ran out of room on the two-point conversion, Pittsburgh ran out the clock, and the Steelers solved one of the NFL’s hardest problems.
