{"id":648791,"date":"2026-01-02T19:09:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T19:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/648791\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T19:09:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T19:09:13","slug":"ravens-qb-lamar-jackson-gearing-up-to-play-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/648791\/","title":{"rendered":"Ravens QB Lamar Jackson Gearing Up to Play Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Steelers News<\/a>\u2022Steelers Opponents<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"PittsburghBaltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 17, 2024. — Ed Thompson \/ Steelers Now\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s winner-take-all clash for the AFC North just became significantly more intriguing. Baltimore Ravens quarterback\u00a0Lamar Jackson\u00a0<\/a>appears on track to play after practicing in full on Friday, a strong indication that the former MVP will be under center against the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers. All signs now point toward Jackson suiting up in a game with massive divisional stakes.<\/p>\n

Jackson originally suffered a back injury following Baltimore\u2019s matchup with the New England Patriots. Veteran backup Tyler Huntley finished that game and then guided the Ravens to an impressive road win at Lambeau Field the following week. Still, Jackson maintained throughout the week that he expected to play, and his full participation in practice further reassured that outlook.<\/p>\n

The remaining question isn\u2019t whether Jackson will play, but how effective he will be. A quarterback whose game is heavily enhanced by mobility may be limited if the back injury lingers, potentially reducing the explosiveness that makes him so dangerous.<\/p>\n

\"RavensBaltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 7, 2025. Ed Thompson \/ Steelers Now<\/p>\n

Even so, the task facing Pittsburgh has grown steeper. The Ravens\u00a0with Jackson are a different challenge entirely. That said, history offers the Steelers some optimism. Under\u00a0Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh has traditionally done a strong job of containing Jackson, especially at\u00a0Acrisure Stadium.<\/p>\n

In four career starts in Pittsburgh, Jackson has thrown just three touchdowns against six interceptions, and a 54.8 passer rating, production well below his usual standards. It\u2019s a reminder that this environment has often neutralized his impact, and doing so again could be pivotal, particularly if he\u2019s less than 100 percent.<\/p>\n

Baltimore may also look to ease Jackson\u2019s burden by leaning on running back\u00a0Derrick Henry, who is coming off a dominant 200-yard performance on 36 carries at Lambeau Field. If Henry gets rolling early, the Ravens may not need to push Jackson beyond what\u2019s necessary.<\/p>\n

Still, for a short-handed Steelers team, Jackson\u2019s likely return adds yet another complication to an already daunting matchup. How he responds, and how Pittsburgh adjusts, will go a long way toward deciding who claims the AFC North crown.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned In This Article: Baltimore Ravens<\/a> Derrick Henry<\/a> Lamar Jackson<\/a> Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> Steelers<\/a> Steelers News<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Steelers News\u2022Steelers Opponents Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 17,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[117,292,7,895,6,520,57,2360,426,2395],"class_list":{"0":"post-648791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-baltimore-ravens","9":"tag-derrick-henry","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-lamar-jackson","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-pittsburgh","14":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","15":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","16":"tag-steelers","17":"tag-steelers-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115827085581780963","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}