Tag: Lamar Jackson

Kyle Hamilton put the Hammer down on the Steelers; Ravens win 34-17

Baltimore Ravens all-pro safety Kyle Hamilton put the hammer down on the Pittsburgh Steelers in NFL Week 16

Baltimore Ravens all-pro safety Kyle Hamilton put the hammer down on the Pittsburgh Steelers in NFL Week 16. Hamilton was all over the field, finishing with eight tackles, one pass deflection, and one forced fumble, making his presence felt on defense.




Hamilton’s keen coverage of Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III led to a turnover on downs to end the third quarter, which is worth mentioning. Since Orr moved Hamilton back to the deep safety position, the Ravens have performed relatively well against the deep pass. Orr understands that the defense is no longer the stronger unit on this team, but his ability to yield big plays might help the team in the post-season run.

Things weren’t all glamour and gold for the Ravens, who allowed the Steelers to rush 117 yards and have two passing touchdowns. However, defensive coordinator Zach Orr could scheme defensive stops when needed.

Ravens return to practice field hours after 34-17 win over Steelers

The Baltimore Ravens play the Houston Texans on a short week and return to the practice field hours after a win over the Steelers on Saturday

The Ravens are chasing greatness. With the team looking to secure the AFC North title, John Harbaugh’s team is back on the practice field just hours after a thrilling 34-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.

Baltimore will be featured in the Netflix Christmas Day slate of games, meaning the team has Sunday and Monday to prepare before departing for Houston on Tuesday.

With such short notice, the Ravens will return to practice less than 16 hours after a physical matchup against the rival Steelers.

Baltimore clinched an AFC playoff berth after a convincing 34-17 win over Pittsburgh at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens and Steelers are tied atop the division at 10-5, and Mike Tomlin’s team would win if they finished with the same record thanks to a tiebreaker featuring common opponents.

The Steelers, Chiefs, and Texans are likely following similar practice schedules.

Lamar Jackson is mad about the interception he threw against the Steelers

The reigning NFL MVP told the media that he was unhappy about having thrown an interception.

It’s rare to see Lamar Jackson throw an interception in 2024, but it did happen in the Baltimore Ravens’ 34-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday. It was just the fourth INT for Jackson in the 15 games he’s played this season.

When the reigning NFL MVP met with the media Saturday night, he said he was unhappy about throwing it.

“I feel like I could’ve played better,” Jackson said in his post game press conference. “That interception got me really mad.

“We don’t turn the ball over, almost any game, we win the game. That one turnover cold have been the difference.”

Minkah Fitzpatrick recorded the Steelers’ pick, and just two plays later, Marlon Humphrey got the ball right back for the Ravens.

And when he did, he took it 37 yards to the house. It was a fantastic sequence of events in just a few plays. Jackson continued:

“But shout to Marlo and the defense, because those guys played it lights out, all game, definitely.”

Lamar’s 115.4 passer rating for the game is elite. A 115.4 would lead the league in passer rating in most NFL seasons. However, after today’s performance, the Ravens’ signal-caller saw his season passer rating decline.

He entered Saturday at 120.7, close to the single-season record. But you have to love the drive and ambition conveyed by Jackson here. The quarterback had just completed another masterful performance, yet he was still focused on how he could have been even better as he rued the one major mistake that he had made.

Hobbled Steelers squad gets blown out in Baltimore

Pittsburgh couldn’t keep up with the Ravens on Saturday and the Ravens clinch a spot in the playoffs.

Winning in Baltimore was going to be a longshot for the Pittsburgh Steelers but when even more injuries started popping up early in the game, you knew it was over against the Ravens. Pittsburgh fell to 10-5 and into a tie in the AFC North after falling to Baltimore 34-17 on Saturday.

The story for the Steelers was the defense. Pittsburgh went into the game minus three starters and after losing cornerback Joey Porter Jr. just didn’t have enough bodies to keep up with the Ravens offense. Baltimore rose running back Derrick Henry and some efficient passing by quarterback Lamar Jackson to a huge performance. Henry finished with 162 rushing yards and was unstoppable for a banged up Steelers defense.

Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t get out of its own way and that started with quarterback Russell Wilson. Wilson was responsible for two huge turnovers and wasn’t sharp as he went back to holding onto the football too long and taking three sacks.

The Steelers have now lost two in a row and have not time to worry about it. They have clinched a spot in the playoffs and must now turn around and play the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas while the Ravens will go against the Houston Texans.

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Minkah Fitzpatrick broke his ‘turnover curse’ in Week 16 vs Ravens

Minkah Fitzpatrick snagged his first interception of the season in Week 16, a bright spot in the Steelers’ tough loss to the Ravens.

Don’t call it a comeback! Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson gifted Pittsburgh Steelers FS Minkah Fitzpatrick his first interception of the season in the AFC North divisional showdown in Week 16.

Fitzpatrick had previously addressed his lack of splash plays in 2024, attributing it to a lack of opportunities rather than skill issues this season.

With the Baltimore Ravens on the verge of scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter, Fitzpatrick positioned himself perfectly for an interception in the red zone.

Jackson’s intended pass was seemingly aimed at WR Rashod Bateman, who had scored a touchdown earlier in the contest, but pressure from Steelers LB Patrick Queen may have forced the Ravens’ QB to miss his mark.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were unable to capitalize on Fitzpatrick’s turnover, as Steelers QB Russell Wilson threw a pick-six to Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey shortly afterward.

Ultimately, despite the disappointment surrounding the Week 16 contest for the Black and Gold, Fitzpatrick’s return to form against the Ravens should excite fans moving forward.

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Lamar Jackson breaks his own Ravens franchise record for TD passes in a season

Lamar Jackson tossed his 37th touchdown pass this year, breaking his Ravens franchise record for TD passes in a season

When his career is over, Lamar Jackson will hold many Ravens franchise records, and on Saturday night, the MVP candidate broke his mark.

Jackson connected with Mark Andrews for a seven-yard pass, his third touchdown pass on the afternoon. And with that score, Jackson’s 37th touchdown of the season surpassed the 36 he tossed back in 2019.

That’s a career-high for Jackson and sets a Baltimore franchise record.

Joe Flacco is the Baltimore Ravens’ all-time leader in career passing touchdowns with 212. Jackson entered Saturday with 159, is now up to 162, and could pass Flacco during the 2025 or 2026 seasons.

Before Jackson arrived in Baltimore, Vinny Testaverde and then Joe Flacco held the record.

Sights and sounds from first half as Ravens hold a 17-10 lead over the Steelers

Sights and sounds from first half as Ravens hold a 17-10 lead over the Steelers

It wasn’t a pretty start, but the Ravens again held a halftime lead over the Steelers, 17-10, with 30 minutes left to play at M&T Bank Stadium.

Baltimore had 201 yards of offense and went 2-5 on third downs in the first half. Pittsburgh has 170 yards of offense, 2-4 on third down, and one turnover in a highly intense first half.

With the second half set to begin, here are sights and sounds from the first half.

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Lamar Jackson nearing all-time QB rushing record

The Baltimore Ravens signal caller is only 108 yards behind Michael Vick, and his career rushing yards by a quarterback record of 6,109.

It has been a statistically superlative season for Lamar Jackson, who seems to reach new milestones weekly.

The next significant record to fall will likely be a quarterback’s career rushing yards, as the Baltimore Ravens signal-caller is only 108 yards behind Michael Vick and his benchmark of 6,109.

Jackson is currently second on the list, with 6,001 career rushing yards, so he is just one excellent game away from being crowned the new king of this statistic.

Getting it done against the arch-rival and division-leading Pittsburgh Steelers in a game of this magnitude would make it even sweeter. If not, it should come on Christmas Day at the Houston Texans. According to StatMuse, Jackson dominates the rushing yards per game statistic among quarterbacks.

He has averaged 60 yards per game rushing for his career, well ahead of Vick’s 42.7 ypg. Among the top 25, there is only one other quarterback in the top 50 ypg, and he’ll be on the opposite sideline this weekend.

Justin Fields, 23rd all-time in QB career rushing yards, averages 50.2. Of course, Fields is not even remotely in the same universe as Jackson as a passer, who enters this game with a 34-3 TD-INT ratio.

One of the significant keys to Jackson’s success has been his ability to manage the football and be a more “cautious” passer. RG conducted a study of “Quarterback Caution,” which included data from January 2018 to November of this year. The methodology was intense, including over a dozen statistical categories encompassing individual and team metrics.

The study covered all quarterbacks who played 90 games over those seven years. Jackson had a 13.21% “aggressiveness” percentage, making him the third most cautious quarterback behind only Patrick Mahomes (10.17% aggressive), who is the face of the NFL, and Jared Goff (12.31%), who has led the total turnaround of what has traditionally been one of the league’s worst franchises.

As expected, Lamar is in an elite company regarding quarterback caution. The study showed that cautious quarterbacks win games and put up big numbers. According to the RG study, Jackson has the fourth-best red zone career scoring rate, at 58.8%.

Much of that is due to the reigning NFL MVP perfectly embodying the definition of “dual threat.” He is every bit an elite passer as he is an elite runner. Being equally able to make plays with his arms and legs makes it impossible for him to game plan against them.

Could Steelers lose Odell Beckham Jr. sweepstakes to AFC North Rival?

Could Steelers lose out on OBJ to the Ravens, as Lamar Jackson’s MVP-caliber play and Diontae Johnson’s uncertain future spark debate?

The more things change, the more they stay the same for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In regards to which teams may sign the recently released Odell Beckham Jr., the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Baltimore Ravens, and the Los Angeles Rams were considered the odds-on favorites to sign OBJ, according to Bovada.

However, with Rams HC Sean McVay describing the team’s reluctance to pursue Beckham, this kicked the door wide open for Steelers GM Omar Khan to pull off the heist of the century.

Beckham had previously spent time on the Rams and the Ravens, and while Los Angeles is seemingly out of the hunt, Baltimore is showing signs of needing additional talent at the WR position.

Former Steelers WR Diontae Johnson is practically one foot in, one foot out of the Ravens organization, and Beckham may prefer to play in an organization he played for previously.

With Ravens QB Lamar Jackson lighting up defenses with his arm and legs, the two-time MVP award winner may present Beckham an opportunity he simply can’t pass up to close out the 2024 season.

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Lamar Jackson’s sixth five TD, 0 INT game places him in exclusive QB company

Throwing 5+ touchdown passes, while also not getting intercepted, in the same game is an incredible feat

Once again, Lamar Jackson was near perfect on Sunday. His incredibly elite final individual box score (21-25 passing for 290 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions) yielded a passer rating of 154.6 for the game.

A perfect game, which he accomplished for the fourth time in his career in a Nov. 3 win at Denver, is 158.3. However, Jackson’s five touchdown passes and 0 INT performance in the 35-14 rout of the New York Giants place the reigning NFL MVP into especially rarified air.

Throwing 5+ touchdown passes, while also not getting intercepted, in the same game is an incredible feat. According to a graphic on the NFL Network’s Gameday Highlights show, this was the sixth time that Jackson reached this benchmark. 

This puts him above Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Ben Roethlisberger, who each did it five times.

The only two quarterbacks ahead of Lamar on this list are Drew Brees (who rewrote the NFL passing record book) and Tom Brady (who Lamar considers the G.O.A.T.), who have done it eight times.

Putting together another statistical masterpiece today, Jackson has an unreal 34-3 touchdown pass-to-interception ratio for the season. If he can get that up to 42-3 or better this term, it would tie Brady’s 2016 season for the best TD-INT ratio in history, when he put up a 14:1 (28 TDs, 2 INTs)