ExtremeRavens Posted Monday at 10:15 PM Posted Monday at 10:15 PM For a moment, Ravens coach John Harbaugh blushed, nervous there might be some leaked footage of his reaction to the Browns upsetting the Steelers. Harbaugh jumped for joy. How could he not? The Ravens were playoff long shots for much of this year. In a 24-hour span, his team rose from the dead, winning a crucial bout in Green Bay on Saturday then getting the shocking result few anticipated a day later, which sets up a win-or-go-home regular season finale in Pittsburgh. “Everybody was jumping around and fired up and happy,” said Harbaugh, his team suddenly within arm’s reach of becoming the AFC North’s first three-peat division champs. Harbaugh invited coaches and players over to his house to toil through that emotional rollercoaster together. On a video posted by the team from the visiting locker room at historic Lambeau Field, Harbaugh promised to provide water, Gatorade and protein cookies for anyone interested. “We had fun but it was also a nail-biter,” Harbaugh said. It was a nail-biter by the end, but a sluggish affair for the better part of the afternoon. Viewership might have plummeted had the game not been gift wrapped by playoff implications. Or enlivened by an anecdote about Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley phoning Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders in the wee hours of the morning to, as Sanders said, “speak life into me.” Sanders barely did enough. He completed 17 of 23 passes for 186 yards and one touchdown. He also threw two interceptions. The win that saved Baltimore’s chances at an improbable opportunity to sneak into the playoffs came down to the final minutes. Harbaugh’s eyes stayed on the TV for a good chunk of that game. But at times, even he couldn’t bare to watch. With about seven minutes to go, Pittsburgh had the ball near midfield and went three-and-out. The Steelers got the ball back with two minutes left, still in need of a touchdown to win. Aaron Rodgers threw a quartet of incomplete passes and the ball was back with Cleveland. The Browns went three-and-out and kicked a field goal to make it 13-6, meaning the Steelers needed a touchdown and point-after to tie or two-point conversion to win. Win the game and their first division title since 2020. Rodgers would have one more shot at the kind of late game heroics he built a Hall of Fame career on. Harbaugh and his team watched the same thing we did: CBS Sports color commentator and former NFL quarterback Tony Romo insisting that situation is why the Steelers signed a now 42-year-old Rodgers. He drove Pittsburgh the length of the field, arriving inside the 10-yard line with 30 seconds left. Rodgers proceeded to throw three incomplete passes, the last of which was a fourth-down try against Cleveland’s best defender that never stood a chance. The reaction at Harbaugh’s house? “It was uncorked, man,” he said. “It was raucous. A lot of hugging.” Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar posted on social media that watching Sunday’s matinee had him more nervous than any game he’s played in. That post came hours after he jokingly encouraged someone to call Myles Garrett “overrated,” hoping to light a fire under the future Hall of Fame pass rusher. Several other players posted to social media embracing their newfound, short-lived fandom. Harbaugh slipped out of coach mode for that game. He acted like every other Ravens fan watching what he described as “a great example of AFC North football.” He complained about play calls and criticized clock management. They even got superstitious. When the Browns executed on a string of positive plays early in the game, someone told Harbaugh he wasn’t allowed to move from the seat he was sitting in for fear that some cosmic being might interfere if the coach’s butt touched a different cushion. By sunset, the Browns had won. The Ravens live to see another week. “We’re appreciate of the opportunity it affords us,” Harbaugh said. “And it’s our job right now to prepare for it.” Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.x.com. View the full article Quote
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