Baltimore Ravens much better with Lamar Jackson than without him

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The 16 is an ongoing essay series on the record number of Black quarterbacks starting in the NFL during the 2025 season.

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PITTSBURGH – There are moments – albeit fewer and farther between this season than in recent memory – when Lamar Jackson reminds the NFL who he is.

He’ll flash his spectacular athleticism while escaping impending disaster in the pocket. He’ll dazzle with his powerful passing arm that’s second to none. And most notably, the Baltimore Ravens’ superstar quarterback will display his flair for the dramatic – rescuing his team when hope seems lost. Sometimes, Jackson does it all, repeatedly, in a single game.

Of course, Jackson doesn’t do everything. He doesn’t play on defense or kick for the Ravens – who needed much more Sunday night from their players who do.

Despite a vintage, heroic performance from Jackson in the league’s final game of the regular season, the curtain dropped on the Ravens. Rookie placekicker Tyler Loop missed a potential game-winning 44-yard field-goal attempt as time expired, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a 26-24 victory and the AFC North title while sending the Ravens to the offseason. Loop pushed the ball wide right, completing one of the most soul-crushing, season-ending losses for a team in league history.

Hyperbole? Not judging by the scene in the visitors’ locker room, where the Ravens’ grief was palpable. It was quiet enough to hear tears drop.

Jackson was among many Ravens players and coaches who tried to make sense of what occurred. Beginning today, they’ll have a long, frustrating break to chew on it.

“Definitely stunned,” said Jackson, who had 238 passing yards and three passing touchdowns on only 18 attempts. “I thought we had it in the bag. I thought we had it in the bag. I don’t know what else we can do.”

Well, having Loop deliver on the potential game-winning kick and playing better on defense – especially in pass coverage – could have helped.

Let’s start with Loop.

A sixth-round pick from Arizona in the 2025 NFL draft, Loop entered the game having converted 88.2% of his field-goal attempts.

“I felt it was going to come down to him to win the game for us at the end, just how the game was going,” Jackson said.

Most Steelers fans in a crowd of 65,400 at Acrisure Stadium sat in stunned silence as Jackson worked his magic, rallying the visitors from two fourth-quarter deficits on touchdown passes of 50 and 64 yards, respectively, to wide receiver Zay Flowers. The two-time Associated Press NFL MVP appeared poised to complete the hat trick for a walk-off win as the division rivals collided for the first time in a season-finale, winner-captures-a-division-title showdown.

On fourth-and-7 from the 50-yard line with only 21 seconds remaining in the game, Jackson’s final pass was a gem: a 26-yarder to tight end Isaiah Likely that triggered a celebration along the Ravens’ sideline. Jackson then took a snap and knelt to center the ball perfectly for Loop, or so it seemed.

Ah, not so fast.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh tried to console the crestfallen, young kicker.

“I don’t remember what I said,” Harbaugh said. “I talked to him and walked with him … and just had a conversation with him between him and me.”

Not surprisingly, that was a difficult conversation for Harbaugh. Perhaps almost as difficult for him as watching the Ravens’ defense collapse late.

In addition to Jackson shining in his return to the lineup after missing a Week 17 victory over the Green Bay Packers (he was kneed in the back during a 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 16), running back Derrick Henry continued his season-closing hot streak and Flowers was sensational in the final quarter. Henry rushed for 126 yards with a 6.3-yard average. Flowers had 138 yards on only four receptions and the two long touchdown receptions in the fourth.

“The offense played a great game and well enough for us to win,” Baltimore middle linebacker Roquan Smith said. “I’ve got a great deal of respect for Lamar, who he is as a person, a player, [a] competitor; definitely not his fault. I can focus on the defensive side of the ball. We didn’t do enough to get the job done.”

Clearly, the Ravens were a mess after losing All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, who was ruled out after suffering a concussion early in the second half.

There were glaring mistakes in coverage, resulting in Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers connecting with uncovered receivers. For Ravens fans who made the trip to southwestern Pennsylvania, the defense’s performance was a stomach-turner. Not as much as the game’s final play, mind you, but sickening, nonetheless.

For Smith as well, who refused to use Hamilton’s absence as an excuse.

“Anytime you lose such a great player and a great leader, a guy who communicates very well, a very cerebral football player and a guy who you depend on for a lot of things … it’s a blow,” Smith said. “But it’s about the next man up. They’re professionals as well.”

So are the Steelers (10-7), who move on to play host to the Houston Texans (12-5) in an AFC wild-card game Jan. 12. For at least the moment, talk about head coach Mike Tomlin’s job security will be a secondary conversation in these parts.

The Steelers are focused on the postseason.

“Excited about what lies ahead,” Tomlin said. “Not only the game next week, but the work in front of it. That’s how we get there and that’s how we engineer victory.”

Baltimore (8-9) faces many questions as it begins its vacation. Here are the two thorniest situations: Jackson’s contract situation and Harbaugh’s future with the franchise.

In both 2026 and 2027, Jackson has massive cap hits of $74.5 million. Ravens management wants to extend Jackson and restructure his contract to ease the club’s cap burden.

Jackson, who represents himself without the help of an agent, and the Ravens are talking. As for Harbaugh, the Super Bowl-winning coach, by any objective criteria, has been spectacularly successful at the team’s helm.

However, the Ravens missed the playoffs this season and are 2-3 under Harbaugh in their last three trips to the postseason. Pushed by reporters about his feelings on the Ravens’ future, Jackson was noncommittal.

“You’re asking me about next year? I’m so caught up in what just happened tonight. I can’t … I can’t focus on that right now,” Jackson said. “I’m stunned right now. I’m still trying to process what’s going on.”

That’s understandable. Jackson and the Ravens have a lot to sift through. But on the final night of their disappointing season, Jackson provided yet another reminder – in the starkest terms possible – that they’re much better with him than without him.

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