Steelers defender reveals plan to contain Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry after win over Ravens

PITTSBURGH — Lamar Jackson has a 65-23 record as the Baltimore Ravens’ starting quarterback. But he is now 1-4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers following Sunday’s 18-16 loss to archrival Baltimore.

Jackson and his teammate, running back and league MVP candidate Derrick Henry, struggled Sunday against the Steelers’ second-leading scoring defense. Jackson competed for less than 50% of his passes, threw a costly interception and was blocked on Baltimore’s two-point attempt that would have tied the score with just over a minute left. Henry scored on a short touchdown run late in the first half, but was still limited to 65 yards on 13 carries (nearly half of his rushing yards came on a 31-yard run that set up his score).

How did the Steelers do it? Pittsburgh safety and reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month Beanie Bishop Jr. offered insight into the Steelers’ defensive game plan when it comes to stopping two of the NFL’s best offensive players, starting with Jackson, who hasn’t beaten the Steelers since last week. 5 of the 2019 season.

“For the back end, just put a cast on your guy,” Bishop said during an interview with CBS Sports. “It’s like playing street basketball. Guys move around trying to get open, not having too many routes, obviously, because he’s struggling. For the guys that run, keep him in front of you, and inside you’re going to have help and other guys will come.”

As Bishop alluded to, it takes all three levels working in unison to contain Jackson, one of the most electric players the NFL has seen in its 105-year history. Jackson was only sacked twice, but he was under constant pressure Sunday. On his 2-point attempt, Jackson was cornered by Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who forced Jackson to attempt a desperation attempt that went wrong.

Regarding Henry, Bishop said success was both tangible and intangible. Some of that was fundamentals, but a lot of it was attitude when going head to head with King Henry.

“Being a gap sound,” Bishop said. “Guys in their gap, winning their one-on-one matchups. Coming off their blocks and stuff like that, and most importantly, not being afraid to tackle him. A lot of their big careers on tape are guys being afraid to tackle… We don’t have afraid to attack and that was shown because we were able to limit the big plays.

On Sunday, the Steelers defense once again showed why it is one of the top-ranked units in the NFL. On the contrary, Sunday’s game was another example of the Ravens coming up short in a game they could have easily won. That fact did not go unnoticed by Jackson, who struggled to hide his frustration following their most recent loss to Pittsburgh.

“We can’t beat ourselves in these types of games,” Jackson said. “We have to find a way to fix it. That shit is annoying.”