ExtremeRavens Posted Monday at 09:42 PM Posted Monday at 09:42 PM After shutting out Joe Burrow for the first time since his days at LSU in a 24-0 drubbing of the Bengals in Cincinnati to breathe more oxygen into their playoff hopes, the Ravens now turn their attention to a home regular-season finale Sunday night against the AFC East leading New England Patriots. It’s another critical game with just three more remaining in the regular season. Baltimore has also been stunningly and unusually bad at M&T Bank Stadium this year. Since 2008 — coach John Harbaugh’s first season at the helm — the Ravens have won 71% of their home games, tied for second-best in the NFL (with, ironically, the Patriots) during that span. This season, however, the Ravens are just 3-5 so far at home, tying the franchise record for fewest victories in Baltimore, a mark set in 2015. It’s something that was a point of contention with cornerback Marlon Humphrey after their most-recent defeat earlier this month to the Pittsburgh Steelers, which was the second-straight home loss after a Thanksgiving night disaster against the Bengals. “That’s something that definitely does bother me some,” Humphrey said. “I think every home game we have, it’s probably — no matter [if you’re] young or old — someone’s first game in ‘The Bank,’ and to continue these performances [of] people’s first memory of being in this stadium is losing, I’m not a huge fan of that. Obviously, when you’re home, you have the fans to your advantage. You want to win in front of them. People pay a lot of money to get in these seats. We appreciate them a lot, so losing at home, really, it’s unacceptable. I’m not going to say it is what it is, but it’s just unacceptable.” Asked on Monday, however, if it has been a point of frustration, Harbaugh gave an emphatic “no.” “Seasons go the way they go,” he continued. “You fight the way they fight. You can look back all you want and say, ‘Well this happened or that happened or where do we stand right now?’ You can do that all you want. What’s that gonna do for you? Where’s that gonna take you? You gotta look forward.” Looking back, after all, won’t change anything. But there have been plenty of eccentricities. In the loss to the Steelers, Baltimore’s attempted late rally came up short as quarterback Lamar Jackson was sacked on the final play of the game. An apparent Isaiah Likely touchdown was also overturned by replay amid a series of other calls that didn’t go the Ravens’ way, including one the NFL admitted it got wrong. In the defeat to the Bengals, the Ravens were doomed by five turnovers. The performances also track with how things have gone for the Ravens at home this season. In eight home games, Baltimore is averaging just 21.6 points and 325.5 yards per game. On the road, the numbers have been noticeably higher — 27 points and 368.3. The completion percentage (66.7 vs. 63.2) and yards per pass attempt (8.0-7.3) have also been higher on the road than at home and there have been more passing touchdowns (10-9), despite fewer away games. Those numbers are of course influenced by quarterback Lamar Jackson missing three straight games — all at home — among a spate of other injuries. That included a blowout defeat to the Chicago Bears as well as a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The Ravens scored a combined 13 points in those contests. If Baltimore makes the postseason, it’ll be the first team to make the playoffs with a losing record at home since 2021. But Harbaugh, as he said, also isn’t worried about the past. “I look back with a lot of pride,” he said. “Every game we’ve lost our guys are fighting like crazy to win it. So, no, there’s no frustration. To me, that’s made up. Yeah the guys are disappointed, the guys wanna win games. “Those games are history. There’s no frustration. There’s opportunity and that’s what our guys are looking at.” Have a news tip? Contact Brian Wacker at bwacker@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/brianwacker1. View the full article Quote
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