John Harbaugh has a feeling on Lamar Jackson playing for Ravens vs. Steelers

It's going to be a huge game for the Baltimore Ravens (8-8) in Week 18, and they're hoping that they'll have two-time NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at their disposal.

The Ravens take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) in what has effectively become the AFC North title game this Sunday night.

Jackson missed last Week 17's win over the Green Bay Packers as he's been dealing with a back contusion. He didn't practice at all last week, leading up to that game, and he didn't practice for the first two days of this week.

With that said, Jackson was a full participant on Wednesday at practice, and Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh revealed that he's feeling good about his star quarterback's chances of playing against the Steelers.

"He looked good," Harbaugh said on Wednesday, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN. "I'm very optimistic [that he'll play Sunday], and we'll see how it plays out the rest of the week."

Jackson was injured on Dec. 21 against the New England Patriots. He had taken off on one of his trademark runs and ended up getting kneed in the back.

Lamar Jackson is preparing to play in Ravens vs. Steelers 

Per Hensley, Jackson had either a flak jacket or extra padding around his midsection, and Harbaugh confirmed that the quarterback is trying to find the best way to protect himself. 

"I think he's looking at those kind of [options] right now and he'll figure it out what he wants to do," Harbaugh said.

This is a winner-take-all game for the two AFC North rivals. The winner will win the division and lock up the AFC's No. 4 seed as well as a home game in the wild card. The loser doesn't make the playoffs.

On the other sideline will be the old gunslinger himself, Aaron Rodgers. The game will be at Pittsburgh's Acrisure Stadium, and Jackson has struggled on the road against the Steelers.

His teammates are confident in his ability to play big in this big game, though, even coming off an injury.

"I think the Steelers in the past seem like it's been a team that's always been kind of a knife in our side, especially him," Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. "And I think he'll be more than ready to go if he's out there Sunday."