Lamar Jackson faces Aaron Rodgers for the first time this week as both star QBs deal with injuries

By Canadian Press on December 4, 2025.

Pittsburgh (6-6) at Baltimore (6-6)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS.

BetMGM NFL odds: Ravens by 6.

Against the spread: Steelers 5-7, Ravens 4-8.

Series record: Steelers lead 37-26.

Last meeting: Baltimore beat Pittsburgh 28-14 in the first round of the playoffs on Jan. 11, 2025 in Baltimore.

Last week: Steelers lost to Bills 26-7; Ravens lost to Bengals 32-14.

Steelers offense: overall (27), rush (28), pass (24), scoring (15).

Steelers defense: overall (28), rush (17), pass (28), scoring (20).

Ravens offense: overall (20), rush (5), pass (28), scoring (12).

Ravens defense: overall (26), rush (18), pass (T-25), scoring (21).

Turnover differential: Steelers plus-8; Ravens minus-4.

Steelers player to watch

QB Aaron Rodgers. The oldest player in the NFL turned 42 on Tuesday and has very much looked his age of late. Rodgers’ 10 completions last week against Buffalo were a career low in a game in which he started and finished. His completion rate is hovering around 50% over his past three appearances. The inaccuracy isn’t the only problem. Pittsburgh has been unable to generate much of anything downfield. The Steelers are 24th in the league in yards per pass attempt.

Ravens player to watch

RB Derrick Henry. He rushed for 348 yards in the final two meetings with Pittsburgh last season, but he’s averaging only 78 per game this season behind a shaky Baltimore offensive line.

Key matchup

Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson against Pittsburgh’s pass rush. Jackson has already taken more sacks (27) than he did all of last season, and he’s looked unusually uncomfortable of late, posting just a 69.7 passer rating over his past four games. He’s dealt with hamstring, ankle, knee and toe injuries recently, and although he seemed more spry against Cincinnati, his throwing accuracy was not to his usual standard.

Key injuries

Steelers: Rodgers is expected to make his second straight start with a broken left wrist. … Former Ravens LB Patrick Queen is dealing with a hip injury. … CB James Pierre entered the week in the concussion protocol. … LB T.J. Watt has a toe injury.

Ravens: Jackson (ankle) was limited in practice Wednesday, although all 53 players on the roster practiced that day in some fashion. Baltimore enters this game with extra rest after playing last Thursday. … CB Nate Wiggins (foot) was also limited. … S Ar’Darius Washington (Achilles tendon) and LB Tavius Robinson (foot) are on the physically-unable-to-perform list and injured reserve, but they’ve practiced this week.

Series notes

Ravens coach John Harbaugh and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin are meeting for the 38th time. Only George Halas and Curly Lambeau (49) faced each other more often. This is the latest in the season Harbaugh and Tomlin have met with neither team above .500. … The Steelers have won eight of the past 11 meetings, but the Ravens took the final two games last season, both of them comfortable victories at home, the second one in the opening round of the playoffs. … The games between the longtime AFC North powers have traditionally been tight, with 19 of the past 38 meetings decided by three points or fewer. … Rodgers and Jackson have never faced each other. Rodgers beat Baltimore in 2021 when he was with Green Bay, but Jackson was injured that day. Those two currently rank 1-2 in the NFL in career passer rating, with Rodgers at 102.4 and Jackson at 102.2.

Stats and stuff

The winner takes command of the AFC North with four games to go, though Pittsburgh and Baltimore seem to be heading on different tracks as December opens. The Steelers have dropped five of seven since a 4-1 start, while Baltimore is 5-1 since opening the season 1-5. … Pittsburgh is 16-6 following losses of 15 points or more under Tomlin, including a 1-0 mark this season. … The Steelers’ defense is smarting after allowing Buffalo to pile up 249 yards rushing last week, the most they’ve given up at home in more than 50 years. Now they must take on a Ravens team that rolled up 510 yards on the ground during their two late-season wins over Pittsburgh last season. … Pittsburgh is one of the few teams that has enjoyed a measure of success against Jackson. The Steelers are 5-4 all time against the Ravens when Jackson starts. … Watt has just seven sacks this season with five games to go, putting him on pace for his lowest sack total during a year not shortened by injury since he was a rookie in 2017. … The Steelers allowed Buffalo to hold the ball for nearly 42 minutes last week and now face a Baltimore team that possessed the ball for 39 minutes in the playoff game in January. … Rodgers’ 19 touchdown passes have gone to 10 different receivers, tied with Josh Allen for the most in the NFL. Yet Rodgers has also been ordinary of late. He has two touchdown passes with two interceptions and two fumbles in his past 10 quarters. … Pittsburgh’s RB duo of Kenny Gainwell and Jaylen Warren has been productive. Warren is averaging 4.9 yards per touch while Gainwell is averaging 5.1, but both have also had limited opportunities. Warren has just two games this season with at least 20 touches while Gainwell has just one. … It’s telling of how desperate Pittsburgh is to find a difference-maker in the passing game to put alongside DK Metcalf that it signed 35-year-old WR Adam Thielen to the practice squad this week. The two-time Pro Bowler had just eight receptions in sporadic playing time for Minnesota this season before being released. … The Ravens turned the ball over five times against Cincinnati, although they did limit the Bengals to just one touchdown in six red zone trips. Baltimore controlled the ball for only 21:14. … Baltimore TE Mark Andrews set the franchise’s career record for receptions last week. He joined Travis Kelce of Kansas City as the only TEs to achieve a “Triple Crown” by holding a franchise’s career receiving records in catches, yards and touchdowns. … The Ravens are 11-1 at home in December with Jackson starting. … Henry needs 69 yards for his seventh 1,000-yard rushing season. He would become the fourth RB to produce seven seasons of at least 1,000 yards rushing and 10 rushing touchdowns. The others are LaDainian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson and Emmitt Smith. … Baltimore LB Roquan Smith needs 10 tackles for 100 this season. He can become the fourth player since 2000 with at least 100 tackles in each of his first eight seasons. Smith would join Bobby Wagner, Luke Kuechly and Chris Spielman in that group.

Fantasy tip

Against a Baltimore defense that has shown an ability to bend but not break recently, Steelers K Chris Boswell could be in line for a big game.

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The Associated Press