Even though the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ravens will be playing for sole possession of first place in the AFC North on Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, it won't be a battle of superpowers. Both teams are just 6-6, playing in a weak division.
However, the quarterback matchup between the Steelers' Aaron Rodgers and the Ravens' Lamar Jackson is intriguing. Rodgers has four NFL MVP awards, and Jackson has won the award twice. Rodgers' 104.2 career passer rating is the best in NFL history, and Jackson is second with a 102.2 mark.
Surprisingly, this marks the first head-to-head meeting between Rodgers and Jackson. It will also be the first time two multi-MVP quarterbacks ever face off in a division matchup.
Both QBs will be playing through injuries. Rodgers has a broken left wrist in his non-throwing hand, while a sore hamstring has hampered Jackson.
However, Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin knows his team must account for Jackson, even with running back Derrick Henry in the Ravens' lineup.
"When you go into a stadium with him, you presume it's always 100 percent Lamar," Austin said. "If you underestimate that man, you're doing that at your own risk. Whether he is running more or whatever, he has the ability to change a game in a heartbeat, so we'll prepare as such."
Though Rodgers is 42, he still shows flashes of his MVP form. He has thrown 19 touchdown passes this season, though none in last week's 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Yet the Ravens know that Rodgers is still capable.
"I have a great deal of respect for the guy," Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith said. "You don't play, what, 20-plus years in this league if you're not one of the most talented people that's played the game. So, I have a great deal of respect for him, but at the end of the day, it's more so about us and what we do. So, we just have to go out and impose our will and play our brand of football. That's what it's just going to come down to, and I have a great deal of respect, but it's not about that."