OWINGS MILLS, Md. – At the start of practice Wednesday, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken was upset with how players approached a ball security drill.

After sprinting down the field, Monken put the ball in his wide receiver’s hands and tried to rip it away and hit it.

When the Ravens host the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, Fox), all talk will center on Jackson’s 1-4 record against his biggest rival. But Baltimore believes it has the solution to Jackson’s Steelers problems.

“It starts with us,” said Monken. “The boys have to play well around him; (one) cannot turn it around; (You) can’t have penalties that put you behind against good teams, otherwise you’re going to be in trouble.”

When Jackson faced Pittsburgh, he looked nothing like the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player. But Jackson’s supporting cast also stumbled.

In Jackson’s five starts against the Steelers, the Ravens lost six fumbles, dropped a dozen passes and committed 51 penalties.

Jackson didn’t see much film from the Ravens’ 18-16 loss to the Steelers in Week 11. He remembers the three turnovers and 12 penalties from Baltimore’s weakest game of the season.

“(They were) just self-inflicted wounds,” Jackson said. “(We had) penalties, turnovers, (trying to) get back on track (on) second and long, third and long, first and long. (With) things like that, we kill drives” before they even started, and I watched a movie about it.

Jackson added: “Last week (against the New York Giants) we did better. If we can just stay on schedule with these guys, I feel like we’ll be where we need to be.”

On Saturday, Jackson will either end Pittsburgh’s dominance over Baltimore or the Steelers will clinch the AFC North title on the Ravens’ home field. Baltimore (9-5) can clinch a playoff spot with a win and clinch first place in the league against Pittsburgh (10-4), but they will also likely need Jackson to cut down on his mistakes.

The Steelers are the only team against whom Jackson has thrown more interceptions (eight) than touchdown passes (five). Jackson also fumbled three times against the Steelers while posting career lows in QBR (39) and completion percentage (56.7%) against them.

Pittsburgh’s success comes from its aggressiveness. The Steelers pressured Jackson on 31% of his dropbacks and sacked him 22 times, including 8.5 by TJ Watt.

“They made plays against us,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “They had sacks; they had some timely sacks, some timely turnovers and timely stops. They succeeded, and that’s it. That’s what winning games is all about. You did a good job.” That.”

In Jackson’s seven-year career, Baltimore was held to under 20 points and 350 total yards eight times. But three of those games came against Pittsburgh.

Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers was asked what the Steelers defense is doing to make it difficult for Baltimore.

“Nothing,” Flowers said. “(The Steelers) don’t really do anything that really stresses me out, if I’m honest. There were some (losing) games, and (the Week 11 game) ended up being that game, so we’ll figure it out when we get there. We have it this week, so I’m looking forward to it.

Nevertheless, the Ravens remained under 20 points in eight consecutive meetings against the Steelers. The last time Baltimore scored over 20 points was in 2020 when they lost 24-28.

But this is an offense that has a chance to be remembered as the best in franchise history. The Ravens, who currently lead the NFL with 424.1 yards per game, have never been the No. 1 offense in their 29 years of existence.

Baltimore also ranks in the league’s top three in rushing (2nd), passing (3rd), scoring (3rd), third-down conversion rate (2nd) and red zone efficiency (1st). ). Jackson is surrounded by players like running back Derrick Henry, who is second in the NFL with 1,474 rushing yards; Mark Andrews, tied with George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers for the most touchdowns by a tight end (eight); and Flowers, who is 84 yards away from becoming the team’s first 1,000-yard receiver since 2021.

When asked if he thinks the Ravens should have more answers for the Steelers defense, Jackson replied: “I think so. I believe we should have answers. I bet I’ll have an answer for you after the game.”