Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels may share a similar playing style with the Ravens' Lamar Jackson but the two are playing a distinctly different game, in Steelers' defensive coordinator Teryl Austin's estimation.
And that being the case, the Steelers having played Daniels last Sunday in advance of hosting Jackson this Sunday offers no added benefit in preparation.
"There's no advantage," Austin maintained. "Obviously, the guy we're playing, Lamar, is a two-time MVP. He's had three perfect passer ratings this year in addition to all the other things he does. It's not a slight at Jayden Daniels, who I think is going to be a fine player, but this guy (Jackson) has proven it in the NFL.
"And what you see with Lamar is the fact that as he gets a little bit older and a little bit more seasoned in the league he gets better, and that's what the great players do. It's gonna be a real challenge."
Jackson has thrown for 2,669 yards and 24 touchdowns and run for 538 yards and two TDs (he also ran in a two-point conversion in Baltimore's 35-34 victory over Cincinnati on Nov. 7) this season.
He may be well on his way to a third NFL MVP designation.
If there's an advantage to be gleaned in getting ready for such a dual threat, it's not having just played Daniels in a game that provides it but getting to practice against Steelers backup Justin Fields this week.
"It does when you're dealing with a mobile quarterback and a guy that can run and throw, if you have somebody in your program," Austin continued. "Where it really comes in is, when you don't have anybody in your program like that, when you want to run the ball a lot of times you would put a (wide) receiver in there to play quarterback and then everybody in the building knows, 'Hey, they're going to run the ball.'
"This time you can keep the quarterback in, you can run all the offense, you can do all the different things that they do without giving it away and I think that helps our defense."
The Steelers have clearly had something working for them in their previous matchups against Jackson.
He's 1-3 in four career starts against the Steelers and 64-19 against everybody else.
The Ravens have averaged 19.8 points per game with Jackson against the Steelers and 29.1 with Jackson against everybody else.
Jackson has thrown for four touchdowns and been intercepted seven times against the Steelers. He has 144 of the former and 40 of the latter against everybody else.
And his passer rating as a starter against the Steelers is 66.3, as opposed to 103.0 when he's starting against a team not named the Steelers.
Jackson threw for 236 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception, and rushed six times for 45 yards in his lone start against the Steelers last season, a 17-10 Steelers victory on Oct. 8 at Acrisure Stadium.
"You know, the series is tough," Austin assessed. "I think the teams are kind of mirror images. It's not schematic, I just think we're built very similar on both sides of the ball. A lot of times the styles make for the fights, and that's why it's been really tight and really close games and a lot of these games that I've been involved in can go either way.
"I don't think there's any secret."
