Lamar Jackson Says Ravens ‘Can’t Be Beating Ourselves’ After Narrow Loss to Steelers

Andrew PetersNovember 17, 2024

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

The Pittsburgh Steelers handed the Baltimore Ravens their fourth loss of the season on Sunday, a game in which self-inflicted wounds were the story for the Ravens.

Baltimore turned the ball over three times—an interception from quarterback Lamar Jackson and fumbles from Derrick Henry and Isaiah Likely—and had 12 penalties. After the loss, Jackson said mistakes like those that came on Sunday have become a theme this year.

“Absolutely. It’s been that way ever since last year I believe,” Jackson said in his postgame press conference, via Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper. “Going back to the AFC Championship Game, we killed ourselves. Chiefs game — the opener — killed ourselves. Raiders, we killed ourselves, and today same thing. We can’t be beating ourselves in these type of games. We gotta find a way to fix that.”

Coming into Sunday’s game, the Ravens had fumbled the ball just four times and had just two interceptions on the season, the second-lowest mark in the league. Baltimore set the tone for its unfortunate game early as Henry fumbled on the second play and the Steelers capitalized with a field goal.

Likely’s fumble came late in the second quarter and allowed Pittsburgh to take the lead on a field goal in the final seconds of the first half. The Steelers had another made field goal after Jackson’s interception.

Turnovers weren’t the only issue for Baltimore, though. Veteran kicker Justin Tucker made just one of his three field goal attempts which cost the Ravens six points off misses. Had he made the 47-yarder and the 50-yarder, the outcome of the game could have been much different.

Jackson, who has dominated the rest of the AFC North his entire career, now has a 1-4 record against Pittsburgh. He hasn’t beaten the Steelers since 2019 and has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in his matchups against Pittsburgh, adding to his pick total on Sunday.

The win also put the Steelers in the driver’s seat in the AFC North, though there is still plenty of time for Baltimore to retake the lead in the division.

The two teams will face off again in December, where Jackson will look to finally find success against the Ravens’ rival.