The Baltimore Ravens just completed one of the ugliest regular-season losses they’ve ever taken. The Ravens snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as the Buffalo Bills kicked a field goal to win as the timer ticked down to zero. Let’s talk about what happened because there’s a lot of ugly
The Good
Lamar Jackson
There were mistakes up and down the entire Ravens roster. Lamar Jackson might be the only one who’s excused from that. Jackson was near perfect, going 14-19 for 209 yards, two touchdowns through the air,
a 144.4 rating, and added another 70 yards and a score on the ground. He couldn’t have done much more to propel the Ravens to victory tonight, and it just wasn’t enough.
The Weapons
The Ravens were missing Flowers in the playoffs last year against the Bills. When this game was going well, it felt like the Ravens should have won last year if Flowers were healthy and there. Flowers went for 143 yards and hit pay dirt with seven catches on nine targets. He had separation all night and looked fantastic.
Derrick Henry was arguably the MVP of the night until his fumble, toting the rock for 169 yards at 9.4 yards a carry and two scores. He joined Walter Peyton on a record list tonight. DeAndre Hopkins had one of the best catches that we’ve ever seen made in a Ravens uniform.
Kyle Hamilton
The defense wasn’t great tonight, to say the least. But Kyle Hamilton was the lone star out there. He was constantly around the ball, making the plays he is known for. He blew up screens and run plays at the line of scrimmage. He broke up passes down the field. He picked off a two-point conversion attempt. He even got a piece of the game-winning field goal, but it wasn’t enough. Hamilton got paid like the highest-paid safety in the NFL and played like it tonight.
The Bad
Missed Extra Point
Tyler Loop was really good to start his NFL career. He walked into a hostile, playoff environment in his first start and went six for six to open up, nailing field goals from 52 and 49 yards and his first four extra points. But he missed the last extra point. It shouldn’t have mattered; 40 points should have been enough to win any game. But if Loop hits his last extra point, that last field goal from Buffalo only ties the game. That might not have mattered because the Bills were in position to push for a touchdown if they wanted. But it still hurts to know the Ravens lost by one with a missed extra point on the spreadsheet.
The Pass Rush
The Ravens’ pass rush looked ineffective most of the game. It could have been by design, but it felt like the Ravens struggled to get in Josh Allen’s face, and it was frustrating to watch how much time Allen had to throw. The Ravens did eventually get a sack near the end of the game but overall it wasn’t enough. Josh Allen only took 14 sacks last year, less than one a game, so the Ravens were technically better than that. We’ll have to wait to see if the Ravens’ pass rush is something to truly worry about going forward or if it was just this specific game plan.
The Ugly
The Defense
The Bills’ offense started hot, opening up the game with a quick touchdown drive. Then the Bills scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to finish the game and pull out the win. It wasn’t pretty between those two moments as well. The pass rush struggled to get home to Allen, the secondary struggled to cover, and the linebackers seemed ineffective for the most part. Allowing the last-second field goal to end the first half proved very costly.
For all the emphasis on improving their turnover count, the only one they could come close to was an interception on a two-point conversion, which doesn’t technically count. There were plenty of opportunities as well. But the Ravens, akin to last year, dropped their fair share of interceptions. The Ravens talked all offseason about the defense going from being a shield to the sword. They still need to work on it.
There’s too much talent on this defense for it to continue like this. The Ravens figured it out last year with less talent; they will likely figure it out again this year. They showed flashes. They forced four total punts and, after the first touchdown, had the Bills go three and out twice. They need to find their footing, and fast, with a trip to Kansas City not far behind.
Special Teams and Penalties
Much like last year, these two categories look to still be an issue. Special teams started poorly, with the opening kickoff to Buffalo getting returned to midfield. There were plenty of other mistakes as well: ruining a perfect punt by Stout that should have been down at one, almost committing a blundering punt muff, a kickoff that didn’t make it to the landing zone, and other bad kick coverages. Some of this stuff is fluky, and they did improve as the game went on. But that unit has to be better than last year, and they didn’t start strong.
The Ravens also finished with seven penalties for 51 yards. In a game this close, those things mattered. Penalties were a huge issue last year; the Ravens were one of the most penalized teams in the league. So far, it doesn’t look improved.
Blown Leads
The Ravens led 40-25 in the fourth quarter. Another fourth quarter, double-digit lead that just seemingly disappeared on them. The defense and the offense became conservative once they went up 40-25 with around 10 minutes remaining. They lost their identity. The defense went into soft coverage, allowing the Bills to put up 17 points in the last seven minutes.
The offense was the best unit tonight, but instead of sealing the game, they took their foot off the gas. After their last touchdown, they went three and out and punted. Then they had a two-play drive where Derrick Henry fumbled, which truly let the Bills back into the game. But they got the ball back with less than two minutes remaining and a two-point lead. One first down would have nearly finished the win. Instead, it was a Henry one-yard run, a cutesy Zay Flowers jet sweep that went nowhere, then a dig route to DeAndre Hopkins that was short by three yards. On fourth and three, instead of putting the ball into Lamar Jackson’s hands, the Ravens punted, giving Allen a chance to win the game against a defense that hadn’t found a stop in eight minutes.
The Ravens have lost eight games since 2021 where they had a 90% win probability at some point. John Harbaugh has 17 blown double-digit leads in the second half during his career. They can’t escape the identity at this point and it will prevent Lamar Jackson from winning a Super Bowl ring if they don’t fix it.
