ExtremeRavens Posted 16 hours ago Posted 16 hours ago The Ravens lost their season opener on a night that will surely be reviewed as a Game of the Year candidate. This one, a stunning comeback by the Buffalo Bills, 41-40, happened in the same building where Baltimore’s playoff hopes crumbled seven months ago. Here are five things we learned from the game: Ravens are still ‘banging their heads’ trying to close out games Just past the five-minute mark, the Ravens clung to a 40-25 lead. The offense was clicking, marking the first 40-point outing of the NFL season. The only issue was that the second was right on their tail. All the Ravens had to do was close the door and twist the lock. What ensued over the next five minutes of game play was practically unfathomable. And still, par for the course for a reputation the Ravens are struggling to shed. “I don’t want the Ravens to be known as a team that gets up big and blows the lead,” said Kyle Hamilton, newly christened as the highest-paid safety in NFL history. “It’s not who we are and we got to prove that to everybody else because as of right now that’s what we’ve been doing.” Since 2021, the Ravens have lost eight games in which they held a win probability of at least 90%, which is three more than the next closest team. That’s according to ESPN. This one was particularly gutting. It was supposed to be a dish of revenge. For three quarters they were serving it cold, converting improbable third downs that yielded even more ridiculous touchdowns while holding an offense piloted by the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player at arm’s length. What followed was a medley of divine intervention and downright lackluster football. Bills quarterback Josh Allen jetted out of the pocket and flicked a throw toward the end zone. Dawson Knox’s outstretched hand tipped the ball ever so slightly near the goal line, softening the ball’s flight path and sending it careening into Keon Coleman’s hands — a lucky bounce and impressive catch calling all the fans who fled for the exits scrambling back to their seats for an eight-point game. Two plays into Baltimore’s next possession, running back Derrick Henry fumbled the ball away — a first for the future Hall of Famer since Week 11 last year. He later told his teammates, “put the loss on me. I own it like a man.” Buffalo needed only one minute to spin that into a touchdown. The football gods intervened again. In that same corner of the end zone where Mark Andrews dropped a 2-point conversion along with the Ravens’ season, Allen went right over there for his own game-tying try. Buffalo’s attempt was shut down on a pass well-defended by cornerback Nate Wiggins. As if Martin Scorsese or Christopher Nolan interjected to direct the ending, the Ravens went three-and-out and handed the ball back to the Bills, who stormed upfield and won the game on a field goal courtesy of a kicker who was staying game ready at an empty high school field two weeks ago. Add Sunday night to that growing screenshot of before and after score bugs that circulates on social media after every blown Ravens lead. Even if this game didn’t carry the same weight as the playoff loss, it left the locker room dismayed all the same. “We’re banging our heads on the wall about it at this point,” Hamilton said. “We just need to figure out how to win games. We are winning them for 45 minutes, but you have to win for 60 minutes.” Added Henry: “This one is definitely going to sting for a while. It’s Week 1. We still feel that we should have won, but it’s over now. We’re just focused on getting better, deciding on the things we need to work on and go to work. We look forward to the next one.” And Jackson: “We’ll probably let it linger tonight and then forget about it, because we’re going to have to get prepared for the Browns, our divisional rival.” Ravens running back Derrick Henry runs for one of his two touchdowns in Sunday's loss to the Bills. Henry finished the game with 169 rushing yards and one costly fumble. (Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP) Derrick Henry still has juice, despite crucial gaffe Lamar Jackson sprinted toward the end zone cupping his hands like he was holding something valuable, tasking himself with the prized delivery. After Henry broke free for a 30-yard touchdown in the first quarter, a thundering stiff arm on the way there, Jackson slammed an invisible crown down atop the 31-year-old’s head. Henry finished with 169 yards on 18 carries and two mystifying touchdowns that embody what he means to this offense: The second half of perhaps the best one-two punch in the league, worthy of a second teammate pretending to crown him on the sideline after the next touchdown. And yet, his night will be overshadowed by a costly, uncharacteristic error. Henry coughed up the ball shortly before the two-minute warning. He fumbled thrice all last year. This one, jarred loose by defensive lineman Ed Oliver, was a right hook to the gut. Henry forked the ball over to an offense teeming with new life — one that would ride enough momentum to close the gap of a 15-point deficit. Buffalo found the end zone four plays after the fumble, hanging a gray cloud over an otherwise exceptional individual performance. Henry, in totality, did the thing he has done for the entirety of his short Ravens career. Ignore those who say he’s too old and continue to dominate. As ESPN’s Mina Kimes pointed out on X, “even the nerds have abandoned the usual carries/age arguments when it comes to him. Like everyone just acknowledges he isn’t a real person.” Hard to argue with that after watching Henry run all over a top half of the league run defense who packed the box for a lot of the night. Baltimore’s run game was projected to be a strength, as it was last year. As it has been for much of the John Harbaugh era. The trio of Henry, Jackson and Justice Hill accounted for the best rushing attack in the NFL last year. Postulating how offensive coordinator Todd Monken might have fun including a healthy Keaton Mitchell (a healthy scratch Sunday night) was a fun exercise. No matter. Henry showed how unstoppable Baltimore’s offense can be when it leans on him. Remember that picture DeAndre Hopkins posted in February 2020 of him, Jackson and Henry, dreaming about what an offense with all three might look like? Five years later we have an answer. Jackson glided in for one touchdown and threw a pair. Hopkins endeared himself to Ravens fans with a ridiculous one-handed grab. And the bell cow back bulldozed for two scores. Consider his historical context: With Henry’s 107th career rushing touchdown, he passed Jim Brown for sixth on the NFL’s all-time list. Sunday marked the second time in Henry’s career in which he ran for 120-plus yards on fewer than 10 carries which, according to ESPN, is tied for the most by any player this century. Later, on Henry’s 49-yard carry, he hit a top speed of 19.84 mph. The old guy’s still got it. Henry, who scoffs at any suggestion that the age-induced-decline might be imminent, doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Ravens cornerback Jaire Alexander is called for interference in Sunday's loss to the Bills. Alexander struggled in his Ravens debut. (Jeffrey T. Barnes/AP) Defense isn’t close to being the feared group they aspire to be This could still change. There’s time to fix it. But outside of a few stone-walling plays on third down and red zone stands, Baltimore’s defense did not appear to be the “feared” group they have preached all offseason. The game that set off that specific discourse from cornerback Marlon Humphrey felt eerily similar to this one. It was the primetime matchup against Cincinnati in November. That one fell Baltimore’s way, 35-34. This one didn’t, marred by a comeback that stung even worse when a high-octane offense exposed the flaws in the defense. The biggest lesson the Ravens’ defense learned when they lost to Buffalo in the playoffs was the importance of forcing takeaways. Three takeaways to none can all but guarantee victory. Senior secondary coach Chuck Pagano did the math, saying three would give a team a 90-plus-percent chance at victory. His group nearly forced two Sunday night: Malaki Starks let slip what would have been an acrobatic, highlight reel pick on the first drive, then an interception by Chidobe Awuzie that was called back after officials ruled it touched the grass first. Not only did the Ravens fail to forcefully steal the ball away, they barely managed to get hands on Allen, albeit sparring with a top-tier offensive line. Defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike accounted for Baltimore’s only sack, compared with two by the Bills. Allen and all his mastery cut up a gassed Ravens defense in the fourth quarter, using all parts of the field to seamlessly drive down the field and mount a comeback. His 251 passing yards in the fourth quarter marked the fourth best final frame this century. Teams don’t fear defenses that watch offenses — even premiere ones — meticulously pick them apart in the fourth quarter. “We talked about it all offseason how we struggled last season at the beginning,” Hamilton said. “Then [we said], ‘It’s a new year, and it’s a new team,’ and then we come out here and do that. We are saying the same things. Well, we are saying something different, but we are doing the same things.” At one point, Hamilton’s eyes floated up to the scoreboard. He saw Buffalo hung 497 yards on them. Allen threw for 394 yards (251 in the fourth quarter) and two touchdowns without a turnover. Those numbers made Hamilton sick to his stomach. This defense still has the ceiling to be that of which they aspire. The talent is littered all over the field. Tyler Loop’s one miss proves critical He’s going to want one back. Tyler Loop doinked an extra point try and the Ravens lost by one point. That’s the unfortunate, mathematical reality of being an NFL kicker. Welcome to the league, rookie. Loop was sharp otherwise, as many expected him to be. The sixth-round pick was nearly perfect through training camp and showed off noticeable leg strength throughout the preseason. Expecting him to perfect would have been a fool’s errand. But Loop made his first big league kick, a 52-yarder, then slipped on the chip-shot extra point. It was the kind of kick that in the moment, particularly after a touchdown by Henry that erected the 15-point lead in the first place, can be brushed aside. It doesn’t come back to bite until Buffalo creeps back into the game. Then you start looking at the scoreboard and counting on your fingers how it might play out. “It was with my start to the ball,” Loop explained postgame. “I was just back there and kind of [had] a mental lapse in the process and kind of went, ‘Oh, here we go’ and not the smooth process we’ve been working on, and it broke.” Loop, maturely, pocketed it as a learning experience. “Every team in the NFL is a good team,” Loop said. “If you don’t show up and bring your A-game every day, someone’s going to beat you.” The first 6 weeks of the schedule are intimidating. It just got that much tougher. Skipping over a Week 2 home opener against the Browns, the schedule doesn’t get any easier. Beating the Bills would have provided a bit of insurance going into a home game against Detroit, a familiar foe in Kansas City at Arrowhead, then a pair of home games against the Texans and and Rams. That’s five playoff teams from a season ago in six weeks for a team that, despite being considered one of the best in the NFL with pundits galore picking them to be in the Super Bowl, has historically struggled to get off to a clean start. Just last year, the Ravens opened the season 0-2 when Isaiah Likely’s shoe was half a size too big and they delivered a clunker against Las Vegas before getting on track to a historic regular season. Bills coach Sean McDermott, left, and Ravens coach John Harbaugh, right, greet at midfield following Sunday's thriller. The Ravens lost, 41-40, after leading by 15 points late in the fourth quarter. (Gene J. Puskar/AP) “You’ve got to fight those negative thoughts off because at the end of the day,” left tackle Ronnie Stanley said, “it’s not gonna help you win the next week.” Sunday night was a confounding loss for these Ravens. One that, for folks who have followed the team closely these past few years, feels all too familiar. A game this early doesn’t put a bow on a season one way or the other. The Ravens thumped Buffalo in Week 4 last year then laid an egg at Highmark Stadium three months later. The long view is this loss leaves the Ravens playing catch up for the conference’s top seed and the right to home-field advantage. In the short term, the Ravens can’t afford to drop a game. And losing at Kansas City becomes all the more costly if Baltimore is ever going to dethrone the AFC’s dynasty. “Hopefully you learn from it and keep getting better; you get better throughout the course of the season and become the team you’re going to be,” Harbaugh said. “It’s a long journey.” Maybe avoid the unfiltered sports talk radio discourse this week. Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn. View the full article Quote
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