PITTSBURGH -- The Baltimore Ravens continue to underachieve, and Lamar Jackson is tired of it. The reigning league MVP didn't hide his frustration following Sunday's 18-16 loss to the Steelers that dropped Baltimore to 7-4 and 1.5 games behind Pittsburgh for first place in the AFC North.
Once again, the Ravens were unable to overcome their self-inflicted wounds. Specifically, Baltimore's offense continuously shot itself in the foot with carless penalties and negative plays that often put Jackson in obvious passing situations.
"Absolutely," Jackson said afterward when asked if he feels like Baltimore is its own biggest enemy. "It's been that way ever since last year, I believe, going back to the AFC Championship (when) we killed ourselves. Chiefs game, the opener, we killed ourselves. Raiders, we killed ourselves, and today it's the same thing.
"We can't be beating ourselves in these type of games. We've got to find a way to fix that. That shit is annoying."
It's hard to argue with Jackson. Despite having the league's top-ranked scoring offense, two MVP candidates and a defense that features several stalwarts. The Ravens continue to take a back seat to Kansas City, Buffalo and now Pittsburgh in the AFC pecking order. That's because of their inability to get out of their own way.
On Sunday, Derrick Henry fumbled on the game's second play, leading to the first of Chris Boswell's six field goals. Ahead 7-6 late in the first half and deep in their own territory, Baltimore decided to be aggressive instead of taking a knee and going to halftime with the lead. The gamble backfired, the Ravens fumbled again, and Boswell made them pay with a field goal, again.
Trailing 15-10 in the fourth quarter, the Ravens defense made a big play when Marlon Humphrey picked off Russell Wilson in the end zone. Jackson sprinted for 25 yards on the next play, and the Ravens appeared to be back in the driver's seat.
But on the very next play, a 15-yard completion from Jackson to Henry on a screen pass was wiped out after lineman Patrick Mekari was penalized for being illegally downfield. Jackson went deep on the next play and was picked off by Steelers rookie linebacker Payton Wilson. Wilson's pick set up Boswell's game-winning field goal.
There were also the two missed field goals in the first half by Justin Tucker, one of the most historically accurate kickers in NFL history. Tucker has already tied his career high for most field goals in a season (six).
Another example of Jackson's frustrations occurred on a play when Jackson broke seemingly a half-dozen tackles in the backfield before finding Zay Flowers downfield for what would have been a first down. But Flowers dropped the ball, negating Jackson's herculean effort.
Every team makes mistakes. The Steelers made several on Sunday, including Wilson's pick that was the result an extremely ill-advised throw. But good teams minimize their mistakes and usually find a way to overcome their miscues. The Ravens haven't been doing either at a high enough level, a fact that is clearly gnawing at their All-Pro quarterback.
