The fourth-quarter collapse has (and will continue to) receive most of the attention following the Baltimore Ravens' loss to the New Orleans Saints. It is easy to understand why. The Ravens entered the final period with a lead. The Saints scored 15 points over the final 15 minutes.
Baltimore's offense failed to score a fourth-quarter point. By the time Lamar Jackson's final pass was intercepted, unfortunately, another frustrating loss had been added to the conversation. Jesse Minter, however, pointed somewhere else.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Baltimore's head coach acknowledged the importance of the fourth quarter while also highlighting a sequence before halftime that he believes changed the game's complexion. The Ravens appeared to have
complete control while leading 14-3 late in the second quarter. Then came a blocked field goal, a long Saints kickoff return, and a New Orleans field goal before halftime.
"On the block, they got a little bit of penetration. I felt like we were maybe a half second late with our operation. Unfortunately, they got their hand on it right there. Obviously, [those are] three points you would like to have there later in the game."
When asked about the special teams mistakes that contributed to that sequence, Minter explained how quickly momentum shifted. Minter then revealed why that stretch remains significant in his mind.
"[I'm] definitely back and forth, honestly, on the kickoff situation. You kick a touchback, [and] you give them the ball at the minus-35 with three timeouts in 25 seconds. [They would've had] the ability to work the whole field, and [you] really only need one play nowadays to end up in range, so the idea there is you kick it [and] take five or six seconds off the clock. Obviously, you hope to knock them down inside the 30, and most teams now, when they get under that 20-second range, even with the timeouts — in that area of the field — [it] becomes maybe a kneel-out situation."
That perspective is interesting because it differs from the public conversation surrounding the loss. Most discussions have centered on Baltimore's inability to close games. Minter isn't ignoring that reality, but he also appears to believe the Ravens allowed the Saints back into the contest long before the fourth quarter arrived.
"So, again, you weigh all that, [and] that is the way it goes. Then, we came out defensively in the third quarter again [and] let them off the hook on a third down where we really had a chance to get off the field, and then they end up getting three more. So, it is 14-to-9 before you know it when it was 14-to-3 with a lot of momentum. Those are definitely the types of plays that impact the momentum of the game."
Momentum swings rarely come from a single play. More often, they are created through a series of missed opportunities, and in Minter's view, the Ravens experienced exactly that. The blocked field goal cost Baltimore points, the kickoff return gave New Orleans life, and the third-down conversion coming out of halftime extended another Saints possession.
None of those moments decided the game by itself, but together they helped turn a 14-3 advantage into a much different game. That matters because it changes the way Baltimore's loss can be viewed.
The fourth quarter exposed the Ravens' inability to finish, but the problems that made that finish possible had been developing for much longer. Baltimore had opportunities to keep the Saints from gaining momentum and repeatedly failed to take advantage of them.
Minter's message, then, was not that the fourth quarter did not matter. It was that the Ravens cannot wait until the final 15 minutes to start looking for the reason a game slipped away. Against New Orleans, the collapse may have been most visible in the fourth quarter, but perhaps Coach Minter is right. Maybe, just maybe, the loss of control started well before the final frame.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Jesse Minter identifies turning point in Ravens’ loss to Saints
