ExtremeRavens Posted Monday at 10:43 PM Posted Monday at 10:43 PM Despite the string of officiating snafus, fair and not, that complicated the Ravens’ comeback chances Sunday afternoon, they still had a shot. Two shots, in fact, to spin a game-winning drive in their 27-22 loss to the Steelers. Both came up empty in a stretch that coach John Harbaugh said, “wasn’t good enough. Just leave it at that.” Baltimore took over possession with five minutes, 41 seconds left in the fourth quarter. A 19-yard Derrick Henry rush and 33-yard pass to Zay Flowers did most of the dirty work getting upfield. Then Isaiah Likely’s go-ahead touchdown catch was ruled incomplete after official review. Two plays later, the Ravens sat five yards from the end zone. It was third-and-2. Confusion ensued on a crucial short-yardage situation. Jackson flipped the play at the line of scrimmage. Henry jumped from the right side of his quarterback to his left. There appeared to be some exchange with center Tyler Linderbaum as the play clock wound down to its final ticks. Flowers was sent in motion, Henry took a handoff and was stuffed three yards back. Officials flagged left guard Andrew Vorhees for illegal formation. The whole try was thwarted by a self-inflicted mishap. “It’s crazy that that happened,” Harbaugh said. The longtime coach said postgame he considered using a timeout; he still had all three in his pocket. A day later, Harbaugh was more definitive that if he were given a re-do, he would have called off the play. There was some miscommunication between offensive coordinator Todd Monken and quarterback Lamar Jackson, according to Harbaugh. “We got to take responsibility for that on the coaching side,” he said. “I’ll take responsibility for that one. Shouldn’t happen.” The Ravens were pushed back to a fourth-and-5. Jackson threw an incomplete pass that deflected off Mark Andrews’ hand in the end zone and the drive was nullified. Likely’s overturned touchdown will haunt lowlight reels. But letting that third-and-2 crumble became one of the night’s most underrated missed opportunities. Baltimore finished the night two of six in the red zone. At 44.90%, the Ravens now own the third worst red zone scoring percentage in the NFL. The offense, as it has for the better part of this season, looked out of sync a stone’s throw from scoring. Why? “I don’t know at this point,” wide receiver Rashod Bateman said. And still, they had one more shot Sunday afternoon. Pittsburgh’s three-and-out near the 2-minute mark, their third in as many fourth quarter drives, gifted the Ravens one minute, 56 seconds to save their season. Sloppy football burned the next minute, leaving the Ravens stuck at their own 26-yard line. Penalties and a lack of obvious urgency hurt their chances down the stretch. They inched toward the red zone with nine seconds left ready for a shot to win it. Jackson dropped back 12 yards behind the line of scrimmage, Alex Highsmith took a wide angle around the pocket and chased him down for a game-winning sack. “Divisional game that just came down to the last second and the last minute,” Jackson said after the game. “we have to finish and find a way to put some points on the board. They beat us by 5 points. We have to find a way to get a touchdown on that last drive.” Failure to execute down the stretch made the difference between sole possession of first place in the AFC North and what is now a 6-7 record heading into Cincinnati with their season on life support. “Suffice to say,” Harbaugh said, “we have to be better in those situations.” 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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