The Baltimore Ravens lost a 28-24 heartbreaker to the New England Patriots on Sunday night, dropping them to 7-8 and putting their season on the ropes.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can deliver a knockout punch next week with a win over the Cleveland Browns. Even if they lose, the Ravens still have to beat the Packers in Green Bay. They may have to do it without star quarterback Lamar Jackson, who took a knee in the back just before halftime and did not play for the rest of the game.
Even if the Ravens miraculously
qualify for the postseason, their loss to the Patriots showed why they do not belong there. Playoff teams do not two-possession leads in the fourth quarter. Playoff teams do not turn away from their Hall of Fame running back in key moments. Above all, playoff teams do not fumble away the football.
The Ravens did all of those things on Sunday night, losing yet another game they so clearly should have won. The offense rushed for 171 yards, went seven-for-11 on third down, and mounted two touchdown drives with Tyler Huntley under center. But a Derrick Henry fumble in the first quarter snuffed out an early chance to take control of the game, and another by Zay Flowers on the Ravens’ final drive snuffed out any chance of winning at all. On their penultimate possession, Henry was nowhere to be found despite averaging 7.1 yards per carry in the game.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said that it was Keaton Mitchell’s turn in the backfield rotation, but seemed to admit that Henry should have been on the field for such a crucial drive. Mitchell struggled to find space throughout the game and finished with just 13 yards on nine carries.
Baltimore’s defense is no less responsible for the loss. They forced two turnovers in the first half and held New England to just 79 rushing yards for the game, but they had no answer for Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Faced with only intermittent pressure, he racked up 380 passing yards and led back-to-back touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to take the lead. New England went 162 yards in just 17 plays on those drives. No Ravens defender could make a play when it mattered the most.
“It felt like we were just taking on water, taking on water, and then finally the dam broke,” said safety Kyle Hamilton of Rhamondre Stevenson’s game-winning touchdown. Two plays later, Flowers’ fumble completed the catastrophic collapse.
Jackson appeared to be in significant discomfort after the game, but said that he was hoping to play against the Packers on Saturday. If not, Huntley would be in line to make his second start of the season, potentially against fellow backup Malik Willis if Jordan Love does not clear concussion protocol in time.
Even then, a win in Green Bay would only matter if the Browns can take down the Steelers the following day, and the Ravens would still have to win in Pittsburgh in Week 18. Such a confluence of events is far-fetched, at best.
The Ravens did not just fumble away the game on Sunday night. They fumbled away control of their playoff destiny, and perhaps, an eighth season with a generational quarterback without a Super Bowl ring.
