Both Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens won their Week 10 games by a whisker, meaning next Sunday’s rivalry clash will decide the AFC North leader for nearly two-thirds of the season.

Lamar Jackson is playing at an MVP level and could win the award for the third time in his career. In 10 games, Jackson has 24 touchdowns through the air and two more on the ground. He remains a game-breaking threat on any given play, making him the most dangerous quarterback in the NFL, bar none. Frankly, Jackson doesn’t need any help, and Mike Tomlin made sure not to provide him with any scoreboard material when asked to compare Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels to Lamar during his talk post-match press conference. following the Steelers’ latest victory.

“Dude, be real slow about comparing people to Lamar Jackson. He’s a multi-time MVP. It’s Mr. Jackson. We’ll see Mr. Jackson in a few days,” Tomlin said.

The current iteration of the Steelers was wise enough not to give in to the media narrative. Yes, it’s a rivalry game, but there is a mutual respect between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, and it all starts with head coaches John Harbaugh and Tomlin. However, a former Steeler gave Jackson an idea of ​​how Pittsburgh would defend him, and it wasn’t Diontae Johnson.

“So that’s what they’re trying to do with Lamar,” said Arthur Maulet. “They’re going to put a person in the dive and they’re going to run a person straight to Lamar. And they’re going to make him make a decision. So that’s their game plan. One person goes to Lamar, one person goes to the dive.”

Maulet played for the Steelers in 2021 and 2022 before signing with the Ravens for the final two years of his career. He has seen both sides of this rivalry and appears to have no allegiance to either Pittsburgh or Baltimore.

Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin coached Maulet when he was a Steeler, so the former defensive back knows a thing or two about team strategy. And even if the Steelers try to contain Jackson, he surely knows what awaits him at this point in his career.

Jackson has played in six career games against the Steelers. In those games, he has a passer rating of 66.8 with 870 yards, 4 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Everything Pittsburgh is doing is working.