Lamar Jackson gives Steelers shocking lack of credit for beating his Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens entered their Week 11 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers with a prime opportunity to make a major statement. Not only would a win snap a long losing streak against their biggest rivals, but it'd put the Ravens into sole possession of first place in the AFC North.

For the first time in a long time, Baltimore's defense actually stepped up. They held Russell Wilson in check, and the Steelers didn't get into the end zone a single time. They managed to score just 18 points all day. With how dynamic Baltimore's offense had been all season long, it's shocking that the Ravens somehow lost this game by a final score of 18-16.

Pittsburgh's offense didn't really show up, but its defense certainly did. Lamar Jackson might be the only individual to disagree with that statement. He gave the Steelers very little credit for their win, instead placing the blame for the loss on his team.

Instead of Pittsburgh beating Baltimore, Jackson believes that Baltimore beat Baltimore. While there's some truth to that, it's pretty shocking to see Jackson seemingly go out of his way to discredit what was clearly an excellent defensive performance from the Steelers.

Lamar Jackson goes out of his way to avoid giving Steelers credit for beating his Ravens

Jackson isn't fully wrong here - the Ravens did a lot to beat themselves. The once-automatic Justin Tucker missed two field goals. The Ravens turned the ball over three times. They also took 12 penalties for 80 yards. All of those things happening helped Pittsburgh immensely. Still, Jackson going out of his way to avoid giving Pittsburgh credit is weird.

Even after their poor showing on Sunday, the Ravens rank second in the NFL, averaging 30.4 points per game. They still lead the league by a substantial margin, averaging 430.1 total yards on offense per game. Even with that, the Ravens managed to score 16 points and gain 329 yards. Do the Steelers really deserve no credit for that?

Lamar Jackson looked like the clear MVP favorite entering this game, and he was completing 69.1 percent of his passes. Somehow, the Steelers limited him to 16-for-33 passing (under 50 percent). Was that the Ravens beating themselves or the Steelers just defending well?

Even with all Baltimore did to lose themselves this game, the Ravens still had a chance to win. A two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter would've tied the game, but the Ravens generated nothing on their attempt. The Ravens didn't cost themselves two points there, the Steelers simply defended well.

At the end of the day, this sounds like pathetic excuse-making from Jackson. Yes, the Ravens cost themselves with several boneheaded plays, but this kind of game has become the norm for Baltimore against the Steelers, with Jackson in the middle of it. Jackson is now just 2-5, completing 57 percent of his passes and throwing five touchdowns compared to eight interceptions against Pittsburgh in his career.

There's no denying the superstar he is when he plays against the other 31 teams, but Mike Tomlin and Co. have had his number, for whatever reason. Hopefully, instead of giving the Steelers even more motivation to dominate Jackson's Ravens, Baltimore's quarterback can find a way to break through against this defense he refuses to give proper credit to.