Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Lamar Jackson's Turnovers Problematic?

Lamar Jackson is the engine that makes the Baltimore Ravens' offense go, but occasionally, his turnovers can spell doom for the team.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is an incredibly talented football player, but it's hard to deny that consistency has been a major issue throughout his career.

Most of the time, Jackson is a dazzling player thanks to his dual-threat ability and someone who can lead Baltimore to wins. The Ravens saw this good version of Jackson last week against the Cleveland Browns, when he had four total touchdowns to lead the team to a 28-3 road win over their division rivals.

Occasionally, though, the bad version of Jackson shows up, one that is prone to turnovers at inopportune times. Unfortunately, this is the version of Jackson that showed up in Sunday's 17-10 loss to the arch-rival Pittsburgh Steelers.

Jackson had two turnovers on Sunday, and both of them were absolutely back-breaking. The first was an interception in the end zone late in the fourth quarter, when the Ravens had just recovered a Steelers fumble and were in position to put the game away. Then after Pittsburgh scored a touchdown to go back on top, Jackson had the ball knocked out of his hand by Alex Highsmith, and the Steelers recovered to essentially ice the game.

Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt sacks Jackson during Sunday's game / USA Today Sports

Of course, this loss isn't entirely on Jackson, or any other player for that matter. His receivers did him no favors, with several key drops drastically changing the outcome of the game. Running back Justice Hill and receiver Nelson Agholor fumbled as well, with Hill's directly leading to Pittsburgh's first points of the game.

Still, Jackson is supposed to be the engine that makes the offense run, and when he turns the ball over, it usually spells disaster for the Ravens. Turnovers have quickly become a problem for Jackson and the Ravens this season, especially as he has already fumbled three times in five games. For comparison, he only fumbled four times in 12 games last season.

Sunday's game may have been ugly, but if there's any solace, the Ravens still have plenty of time to sort out their issues. They're still tied with the Steelers for the division lead at 3-2, and with wins over the Browns and Cincinnati Bengals earlier in the season, the Ravens still have all their goals in front of them.