OTL: Looks Like We’ll Have Rodgers-Jackson Round 2

Jackson or Huntley?

The Ravens enter Sunday’s matchup against the Steelers with two major storylines surrounding the team. Will the preseason Super Bowl favorites miss the postseason completely, and more importantly, who’s starting at quarterback?

Lamar Jackson left the first half of the Ravens loss to the Patriots in Week 16 with a back contusion, opening the door for Tyler Huntley to lead a struggling Baltimore offense. Huntley was efficient for the Ravens in relief, going 9-for-10 for just 65 yards, but zero turnovers. Being tossed into the fire, with the Ravens hopes of the postseason hanging by a thread the following week, Huntley did exactly what he needed in the team’s upset win over the Green Bay Packers. He finished 16/20 for 107 yards, a touchdown, and yet again a clean turnoverless game. It was Huntley’s second start this season in which he recorded 100+ passing yards, a touchdown, and zero turnovers on 75%+ completion percentage.

It’s not the ideal situation for Baltimore, but should the Ravens find themselves in need of turning to Huntley once again this season, it’s clear how much more efficient the offense runs with Huntley compared to Cooper Rush. However, the Ravens received a little glimpse of hope on Wednesday when Lamar Jackson returned to the practice field. It’s an interesting topic to discuss, however, whether the Ravens are better off with a banged-up Jackson or a healthy Huntley.

In his Week 11 start against the Steelers, Jackson finished with 219 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception, and just a 53% completion rate. Pittsburgh sent pressure on just 23.8% of his dropbacks, but still managed to record 10 pressures and two sacks on Jackson. Lamar’s legs and ability to extend plays when the pocket collapses haven’t been as common this season, which has produced a clear limitation to the Ravens offense. It’ll lead to a lot more loaded boxes from the Steelers, similar to their game plan against the Ravens in Week 14. Pittsburgh loaded the box on 62.7% of snaps, a season-high rate, leading to just 36 yards on 11 carries on such plays for the Ravens offense.

The health of Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt will always play a major role in Pittsburgh’s success on Sunday night. Against the Ravens earlier this season, the Ravens managed just 31 rushing yards on 11 rushes directed towards Watt’s side. Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is “optimistic” in the potential of Watt returning to the field for the first time since a dry needling treatment sidelined him Dec. 10th.

There’s some real key injuries for both teams entering Sunday night, but one thing remains clear for both squads- win, or go home.

The Refs Can’t Save Rodgers Now

I feel it’s usually a trait of a sore loser to direct blame solely on officials following your favorite team’s loss. However, there’s no doubting Pittsburgh got some help from the boys in stripes in their win over the Ravens in Week 14. Did the Ravens come out slow and put themselves behind the 8-ball? Yes. But phantom unnecessary roughness calls, a bogus field goal infraction, the inability to dictate what is and isn’t a catch, and Rodgers somehow having “possession” while sitting on the ground with half a hand on a football didn’t help either. It’s a game that really sucked the life out of the Ravens, coming off a loss to the Bengals that ended a five-game winning streak through Weeks 8-12.

Outside of officiating, there were definitely other key factors that led to the Ravens losing their lead in the AFC North to the rival Steelers. Baltimore managed to produce just seven total pressures and 0 sacks, allowing Rodgers to finish with his second-highest EPA since Week 7, with a +4.1. On the other hand, they managed to limit the struggling Steelers running game to just 34 total yards on the ground. With DK Metcalf still suspended for his altercation with a Lions fan in Week 16, it could be one of the limited upper-hands the Ravens defense will have entering Week 18.

Whether they admit it or not, it was quite obvious that the Steelers put their game plan around preventing Myles Garrett‘s sack record in Cleveland in Week 17. True or not, it’s cost the Steelers a chance to put away the division, and now setting up a win-or-go-home for a Pittsburgh squad that’s once again collapsed in the second half of the season.

Sunday not only holds major playoff implications, but could potentially carry job security and retirement decisions as well. Will it be the final game for either John Harbaugh or Mike Tomlin? If Pittsburgh loses, will it be the end of the road for Aaron Rodgers‘ HOF career?

Only time will tell, but Sunday has all the storylines to be deemed “must-watch TV.”

The post OTL: Looks Like We’ll Have Rodgers-Jackson Round 2 appeared first on Russell Street Report.