How the Pittsburgh Steelers contained Lamar Jackson in Week 11

• More blitzes than usual: The Steelers blitzed on 41.7% of passing snaps, up from their season-long rate of 28.1%.

• Keeping Lamar Jackson in the pocket: Pittsburgh held Jackson to zero scrambles scramble for 0 yards, his lowest scrambling total in two years.

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Week 11 treated NFL viewers to another high-intensity, scrappy showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers — with even more on the line than usual.

The Steelers rode a number of Ravens mistakes — namely, two missed Justin Tucker field goals, three turnovers and 12 penalties — to their fourth straight win over their archrivals, moving them into first place in the AFC North and announcing themselves as a legitimate AFC contender.

What shouldn’t be lost in the shuffle of a sloppy affair on both sides, though, is that Pittsburgh’s defense did what few others have over the last few years: shut down Lamar Jackson. Yes, Jackson was the victim of some bad fortune (untimely penalties, drops, etc.), but he played his worst game of the 2024 season, posting just a 64.0 overall and 57.5 passing grade.

For Mike Tomlin’s bunch, Sunday’s performance was another feather in the cap of what may be the league’s most ferocious defense and another example of Pittsburgh finding a way to neutralize the two-time MVP. So, how did the Steelers act as Jackson’s Kryptonite yet again?

Let’s start with the coverage implemented by Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. The Steelers haven’t been a defense of heavy disguise under Austin, primarily operating out of Cover 3 and Cover 1. From Week 1 to Week 10, Pittsburgh ran Cover 3 on 44.7% of its defensive snaps, with 27.8% of snaps being Cover 1.

However, Austin flipped the switch on Jackson in Week 11, defaulting to more Cover 1 (45.9% of snaps) than Cover 3 (34.4%). That single-high man prevalence was also the formula Pittsburgh employed in its Week 5, 2023, win against Jackson and the Ravens — and has worked in favor of defenses throughout the last few years.

Lamar Jackson's Grades Against Coverage Types Since 2021

Along the lines of simplicity, the Steelers had scarcely blitzed for much of the season, doing so on just 28.1% of snaps through Week 10. After all, when you boast two of the top-five players in overall grade (T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward) and the best defensive line in football, there’s not a ton of reason to.

But against Jackson, Austin was much more aggressive: the Steelers blitzed on 41.7% of passing snaps, tied for the fourth-highest rate of any defense in Week 11. That formula worked phenomenally, as Jackson went just 8-for-15 with 104 yards, one touchdown, one interception, zero big-time throws, zero turnover-worthy plays and a 63.1 overall grade against the blitz in Week 11.

That’s a far cry from his season-long numbers when dealing with an extra rusher, where his 86.9 overall grade leads the league.

Even when not blitzing, Pittsburgh got creative with its four-man looks, utilizing more stunts than usual.

On this third down, edge rusher Nick Herbig loops around Keeanu Benton beautifully. Baltimore left guard Patrick Mekari is late to pick up the twist, which gives Herbig a free shot at Jackson — and alters the accuracy of the pass. This play was eventually ruled incomplete.

Probably the biggest foundation for Pittsburgh’s defensive success was the ability to keep Jackson in the pocket — which virtually no NFL defense has actually executed since his debut. All told, Jackson scrambled zero times for 0 yards, which marked the first time the two-time MVP was held to 0 scramble yards since Week 11, 2022. Yes, that’s two full years ago.

Pittsburgh has been the NFL’s best defense all year at preventing scramble opportunities, shutting down Jackson and Jayden Daniels in consecutive weeks in terms of rushing as plays break down. Much of that stems from premium rush lane discipline, plus rallying to the quarterback as he extends.

Here, Pittsburgh employs only a four-man rush but mugs Patrick Queen, who eventually drops into zone coverage. Benton forces Jackson out of the pocket with his initial rush, but Preston Smith does excellent work in squeezing Jackson out wide.

Being in a dime formation enables the Steelers to have extra speed on the field, which pays off: Cameron Sutton leaves his hook drop assignment to cut off a scramble lane for Jackson, who is ultimately sacked.

Even when he was granted time to throw, Jackson was uncharacteristically inaccurate. His actual decision-making based on coverage looks and leverage seemed adequate, but he was strangely off in getting the ball where he wanted. Jackson’s 63% adjusted completion percentage was his lowest since Week 9, 2022, and he was particularly ineffective on deep passes, missing all four of his tries.

With the Ravens at the Steelers’ 30-yard line, Baltimore had a key opportunity to finally punch the ball into the end zone. But poor accuracy from Jackson cost the team in a crucial moment.

Jackson notices Pittsburgh’s man coverage and targets Diontae Johnson, who beats Beanie Bishop Jr. on an out-and-up route. The problem is that Jackson’s throw leads Johnson too far up the sideline, preventing him from even getting one foot in bounds. Plus, Jackson had Zay Flowers wide open for an easy touchdown across the middle of the field (although it likely wasn’t his first read).

This pass was another great example of a strong processing decision but bad ball location. With Pittsburgh running Cover 3, Jackson understands that a quick hole will open between the field corner and linebacker underneath. No. 8 sees Mark Andrews wide open on a seam shot — a great route to target — but the throw isn’t anywhere close to the tight end.

Even as Jackson regularly bought more time for himself, that didn’t prove a solution. The Ravens QB completed only 11-of-25 attempts for a 64.6 passing grade when holding onto the ball for 2.5 seconds or longer. That’s diametrically different than his season-long 91.2 passing grade when extending a play.

On this play, Jackson bought almost eight full seconds in the pocket to manufacture something downfield, working from his right to the left. Although Flowers was given considerable cushion against Pittsburgh’s Cover 2, Jackson’s throw was totally airmailed.

In one of the Ravens’ most crucial games of the season, Jackson fundamentally did not play to the MVP level we’ve come to expect, whether through the air or ground. Much credit is owed to Austin, Tomlin and the Steelers for throwing wrinkles in the team’s game plan, preventing Jackson from escaping and disrupting his usual rhythm.

Overall, Pittsburgh’s stout showing against the NFL’s best offense marked consecutive weeks of strong defensive play against prolific offenses — and also presented the Steelers with a legitimate case as one of the AFC’s top squads.