PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin referred to quarterback Lamar Jackson as "Mr. Jackson," running back Derrick Henry as a "home-run hitter" and a bomb waiting to go off and compared cornerback Marlon Humphrey to "Peanut" Tillman, which surely had some heading directly to Google.

Such is the respect he has for the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens (7-3) are at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday for what Tomlin called a "five-star" matchup with the AFC North-leading Steelers (7-2), who are riding a four-game winning streak. It is also a matchup of the NFL's top two tenured coaches — Tomlin (18 years) and Baltimore's John Harbaugh (17 years).

And while the back end of the Ravens defense has had more leaks than the Pentagon Papers, their offense leads the league in scoring (31.8 points per game) and rushing (182.6 yards/game) and is second in passing (267 yards/game).

And it all revolves around Jackson, who will be facing the Steelers for only the seventh time in his seven-year career (2-4 as a starter). Tomlin continually referred to him as "Mr. Jackson" throughout his weekly Tuesday news conference, his way of showing respect for the league's two-time MVP.

"Mr. Jackson, obviously, is at the sticks," Tomlin said. "He's a challenge. He's a challenge in all circumstances. He's doing a really nice job of spreading the ball around to a variety of people."

Jackson leads the league with a 123.2 passer rating, is tied for the lead with 24 touchdowns and is second with 2,669 passing yards. He has thrown just two interceptions.

Jackson also leads all quarterbacks with 538 yards rushing, an average of 5.9 yards per attempt.

When Tomlin was asked after the Steelers' 28-27 victory against the Washington Commanders if playing against quarterback Jayden Daniels was good preparation for facing Jackson, he said, "I'd be real slow to compare people to Lamar Jackson. He's a multi-time MVP. That's Mr. Jackson."

When he was asked Tuesday if Justin Fields could be used in practice this week to help simulate Jackson and get his defense prepared for what they will face Sunday, he smiled and simply said, "No."

The Ravens have the most unstopped offense in the league because of the players that surround Jackson, particularly Henry, who leads the league with 1,120 yards rushing, including 12 runs of at least 20 yards.

"Not only is he capable of wearing you down over the course of the game because he's a big man, but he's also a home-run hitter with track speed," Tomlin said. "A bomb can go off anytime he touches it."

The Ravens, though, have needed their offense to make up for a pass defense that allows a league-high 314.6 yards per game and 22 touchdowns. And they could be without All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton (ankle), who was injured in their 35-34 comeback victory Thursday night against the Cincinnati Bengals.

But Tomlin cautioned about Humphrey and his ability to strip or punch the ball from an opponents' hands, comparing him to former Chicago Bears Pro Bowl cornerback Charles "Peanut" Tillman. Tomlin recalled a play in overtime in 2019 game when Humphrey knocked the ball from receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and recovered the fumble, allowing the Ravens to win the game, 26-23.

"A lot of people are getting out of their personalities and are simply one-dimensional and throwing the ball 40 to 50 against them," Tomlin said. "I think that's probably the most significant reason why they're 32nd in the league versus the pass. It's the circumstantial component of it."

About sending a message

Tomlin said the fake punt in Washington, which has caused much debate because of when and where it was called, was something of a message to the Commanders and other teams.

The Commanders left cornerback James Pierre uncovered in an attempt to put another player in the box and outnumber the Steelers on fourth down from the Steelers 16. The play failed when Pierre dropped a perfect pass from special teams captain Miles Killebrew.

"We're just not going to allow people to do unorthodox and potentially unsound things against us," Tomlin said. "I'm not going to allow people to over-stress our protection unit by leaving people uncovered. We've got people that are capable of throwing and catching the football. We don't view it as a gadget or trick play, to be quite honest. That discussion and that work didn't start last week in preparation for the Commanders. It's what we do, it's steeped in our culture. We've been working that since the spring, and so our attitude about it is probably a little bit different than you might think.

"We're not hoping or wishing. There's nothing mystical. This is routine for us as a base pass play or running play or a base defense. We've got that level of comfort in it."

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