The Baltimore Ravens are coming into the playoffs off an incredible 2024 regular season. Baltimore finished the season with a record of 12-5 and an AFC North division title. Now the Ravens are gearing up for a huge Wild Card matchup against the Steelers. It is never easy playing a division rival, and that is doubly true during the postseason.
One reason why the Ravens have been so dominant in 2024 is because of the MVP-level play of QB Lamar Jackson. The two-time NFL MVP finished the 2024 regular season having the best year of his entire career.
Jackson threw for 4,172 yards with 41 touchdowns and only four interceptions. That is an absurd level of productivity for any quarterback. Numbers like that can make it easy to forget that Lamar is also a dangerous threat running the football as well. He also added 139 carries for 915 yards and four touchdowns. Lamar Jackson is simply one of a kind.
There is a reason why opposing defenses do whatever they can to slow down Jackson. Sometimes, even that isn’t enough.
The Steelers know the Ravens better that perhaps any other team in the NFL. Pittsburgh has a strong, swarming defense that is capable of giving Jackson fits. Baltimore should expect an aggressive defensive gameplan from Pittsburgh that is designed to neutralize Jackson as much as possible.
If that does happen, Baltimore will need a couple of players to step up during the postseason and take some pressure off Lamar. If Jackson can get some help from his teammates on offense and defense, the Ravens will have a good chance of making the Super Bowl.
Derrick Henry needs to dominate against Pittsburgh to take pressure off Lamar Jackson
The pairing of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry gives opposing defenses nightmares.
It is next to impossible to account for both Henry and Jackson rushing the football on the same play. Baltimore can easily check into whichever kind of running play gives them a numbers advantage before the snap.
Henry is having a 2024 season that will not be forgotten anytime soon. He has 325 carries for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns which is one of the best regular seasons in recent memory by a running back. In fact, you have to go back to Henry’s 2020 season, where he had 2,027 yards and 17 touchdowns, to find a similar performance.
Like Jackson, Henry is one of a kind. He is the only player in NFL history to eclipse 1,800 yards and 16 touchdowns with more than one team.
All of this illustrates how important Henry is to the 2024 version of the Ravens. Henry needs to have a big game against the Steelers to give the Ravens the best chance to advance to the Divisional round.
Henry has played well in both games against Pittsburgh so far this season. In those contests, he’s rushed 37 times for 227 yards and one touchdown.
Kyle Hamilton needs to make Russell Wilson think twice before throwing the football
Hamilton has blossomed into one of the NFL’s best safeties during his third season in the league.
Hamilton is a do-it-all safety who excels both in coverage and playing against the run in the box. The versatility that Hamilton brings to the table unlocks some unique possibility’s for Baltimore’s defense that not many other teams can replicate.
He may not be a ball-hawking safety like Earl Thomas, but Hamilton can hold up in coverage like the best safeties in the NFL. He only has one interception on the season but has nine passes defensed. Hamilton is also capable of landing huge hits when he does allow a catch.
Opposing quarterbacks always have to keep their eyes on Hamilton. Otherwise, they risk turning the football over to the defense. Or at least having one of their plays blown up for no gain or a loss.
If Hamilton can get inside Russell Wilson’s head, the Ravens will have a much easier time winning this football game.
Any hesitation from Wilson could give Pittsburgh’s pass rush an extra chance to get home for a sack.
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