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The Ravens and Steelers looked like two evenly matched teams for most of Sunday's game. Baltimore put up 457 yards and 25 first downs but turned the ball over four times and had nine penalties for 110 yards. If you're a Ravens fan, you can feel good about the way the team competed, but there are now two things working against Baltimore. They are two games back of Pittsburgh in the AFC North, and they lost All-Pro left tackle Ronnie Stanley for the season with an ankle injury. In a season where the Ravens have Super Bowl expectations, their path out of the AFC got a lot tougher in Week 8.

They have to throw it better in big games than they did against the Steelers. They are two games behind the Steelers now, which isn't good.

Anyone else notice QB Lamar Jackson rarely plays well in marquee matchups? He's now 0-3 against Patrick Mahomes, 0-2 in postseason and now 0-1 against Ben Roethlisberger.

Reason for optimism: The rushing attack

The Ravens lead the NFL in rushing with 178.7 yards per game, and Baltimore is tough to beat when its dominant ground game is clicking. Since John Harbaugh became coach in 2008, Baltimore is 75-19 (.797) when rushing for more than 120 yards in a game. Even with Pro Bowl running back Mark Ingram sidelined with an ankle injury on Sunday, the Ravens were able to produce 265 yards rushing against the Steelers, the NFL's No. 2 run defense. Baltimore is banking on quarterback Lamar Jackson and the emergence of rookie running back J.K. Dobbins to reach the playoffs for a third consecutive season. -- Jamison Hensley

The Ravens are not having a good week. On Sunday, they blew a 10-point lead at home in a loss to the rival Steelers, while Lamar Jackson threw a pick-six and accounted for four turnovers in another lackluster performance. Standout left tackle Ronnie Stanley suffered a serious lower-leg injury in that game that ended his season. Hollywood Brown got Mad Online. On Monday, All-Pro cornerback Marlon Humphrey announced he tested positive for the coronavirus, one day after he played every defensive snap against the Steelers. The Humphrey situation warrants team-wide monitoring, for obvious reasons. The Ravens remain in good position for a playoff return, but the road is far rockier than a year ago.