Lamar Jackson: Will Baltimore Ravens quarterback overcome NFL playoff struggles against Pittsburgh Steelers?

Lamar Jackson has won the same number of playoff games as NFL MVP trophies: two.

A lack of postseason victories is increasingly an issue for the Ravens star quarterback, who is looking to change the narrative when AFC No 3 seeds Baltimore host the No 6 ranked Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round on Saturday night – live on Sky Sports NFL from 1am, Sunday morning.

Jackson owns a 2-4 record in the playoffs, having thrown six interceptions and fumbled six times (three of which were recovered by the opposition) in the postseason. He has thrown for six touchdowns and rushed for three scores in his playoff career.

The 28-year-old has admitted he needs to be more relaxed. “I’m just too excited, that’s all. Too antsy,” Jackson told reporters this week of his playoff troubles.

“This is a narrative until it goes away,” Sky Sports’ Neil Reynolds said, reacting to Jackson’s comments on the latest episode of the Inside The Huddle Podcast.

“He’s 2-4 in the playoffs, with a quarterback rating of 75.7, while his regular season rating for his career is 101.9. And now he’s basically admitted that it has got in his head a little bit. I’ll be watching Lamar quite closely early on in this game.”

Former NFL assistant coach with the Buffalo Bills, Phoebe Schecter added: “Those clips will be being played in Steelers meetings this week, showing ‘look, he’s afraid’.

“He has kind of done himself a disservice there, because that’s going to be ammo for the Steelers team, and he’s also missing his star receiver in Zay Flowers, which is a huge part of this.”

One player who could come to the rescue for the Ravens is star running back Derrick Henry.

In his first season with the team, Henry rushed for 1,921 yards, second in the NFL, and 16 touchdowns, tied for first. He has played in seven postseason games, helping the Tennessee Titans reach the AFC Championship Game in the 2019 season before they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.

How the Steelers defense holds up against both Jackson and Henry could be the key to the contest.

“The Steelers do a really great job of containing Lamar,” Schecter added. “They’ve got very disciplined guys on the defensive line, a big veteran presence.

“They understand what they need to do to keep him in the pocket and, if they can do that, they can limit what Derrick Henry is able to do to you, because they have those physical linebackers that are able to bring them down and play in space.”

Saturday’s meeting is the fifth all time in the postseason between the teams. Pittsburgh have won three of the previous four, but the Ravens prevailed in the most recent playoff matchup, 30-17 in the Wild Card round 10 years ago.

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This season, the Ravens (12-5) and Steelers (10-7) split their two regular-season meetings, with each team winning at home.

Pittsburgh captured the first game 18-16 behind six field goals from Chris Boswell on November 17. In the rematch on December 21, Jackson threw three touchdown passes and Henry rushed for 162 yards in Baltimore’s 34-17 triumph, which formed part of a four-game Pittsburgh losing streak to end the season.

“On face value, this game is punishment for the Steelers for losing four in a row, having to go to Baltimore,” Reynolds added. “But it’s also a team they’re very familiar with and one they’ve beaten already this season.

“Even the game that Baltimore won just before Christmas, it was 17-17 pretty late in the second half before Baltimore pulled away.

“I do think Baltimore win this game, but I’m not sure it’s as straightforward as the seedings and the recent form would suggest.”

Watch the Baltimore Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round of the NFL postseason, live on Sky Sports NFL at 1am, Sunday morning; stream with NOW.