Lamar Jackson, Ravens exorcise demons vs. Steelers; can Baltimore now break through AFC to make Super Bowl?

The Pittsburgh Steelers entered their Week 16 showdown with the Baltimore Ravens with a chance to clinch an AFC North division title and further assert their dominance over two-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson. Pittsburgh had won eight of the last nine matchups, including an 18-16 victory in Week 11.

However, Jackson and the Ravens put their foot down Saturday afternoon with a resounding 34-17 home win to run both teams’ records to 10-5 in 2024. The 2023 NFL MVP threw for 207 yards, three touchdowns and an interception on 15 of 23 passing while adding 22 yards on the ground on nine carries. His performance, along with running back Derrick Henry’s dominance (162 rushing yards on 24 carries) and the defense’s effort (37-yard pick-six and a forced fumble off of Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson) made all the difference. 

“All phases playing a great game … I feel like we played a better game against those guys, and we got it done. It feels good. Any win feels good, but especially against a rival like this,” Jackson said on Fox postgame. “I got the little monkey off my back for the time being.”

Jackson had lost four of his first five starts versus the Steelers, but with his three touchdowns against Pittsburgh on Saturday, he’s now up to 37 on the season to just four interceptions, which allowed him to break the Ravens’ single-season passing touchdowns record of 36 that he set in his first MVP campaign back in 2019. It’s fitting that record from 2019 was now reset by Jackson again in 2024 since Saturday’s 17-point victory over the Steelers was the Ravens’ biggest since the 2019 season, when Baltimore beat them, 28-10, in the Week 17 regular season finale. 

The 2024 season is Jackson’s magnum opus as his most productive passing season of his career. Yet, in today’s world where ring culture is everything, he’ll ultimately be judged on his performance come playoff time, a place Baltimore clinched a spot in Saturday. Every past occurrence of a quarterback throwing for at least 35 touchdowns and five or fewer interceptions — Tom Brady in 2010 and Aaron Rodgers three times (2014, 2020, 2021) — has resulted in that player taking home NFL MVP honors. 

Since Jackson and the Ravens showed they can overcome the Steelers, perhaps this is the year they break through in the postseason and summit the Kansas City Chiefs mountain in the AFC. Should they do that, Jackson and Co. would be happy to take their chances in the Super Bowl against whoever the NFC champions are since the two-time MVP possesses a 24-2 record in starts against the league’s conference. 

The Ravens are officially a playoff team once again, and thanks to squashing their Steelers struggles for the time being, perhaps their postseason problems are going to come to an end next.