Baltimore Beatdown
The Baltimore Ravens just completed one of the ugliest regular-season losses they’ve ever taken. The Ravens snatched defeat from the jaws of victory as the Buffalo Bills kicked a field goal to win as the timer ticked down to zero. Let’s talk about what happened because there’s a lot of ugly
Lamar Jackson
There were mistakes up and down the entire Ravens roster. Lamar Jackson might be the only one who’s excused from that. Jackson was near perfect, going 14-19 for 209 yards, two touchdowns through the air, a 144.4 rating, and added another 70 yards and a score on the ground. He couldn’t have done much more to propel the Ravens to victory tonight, and it just wasn’t enough.
The Weapons
The Ravens were missing Flowers in the playoffs last year against the Bills. When this game was going well, it felt like the Ravens should have won last year if Flowers were healthy and there. Flowers went for 143 yards and hit pay dirt with seven catches on nine targets. He had separation all night and looked fantastic.
Derrick Henry was arguably the MVP of the night until his fumble, toting the rock for 169 yards at 9.4 yards a carry and two scores. He joined Walter Peyton on a record list tonight. DeAndre Hopkins had one of the best catches that we’ve ever seen made in a Ravens uniform.
Kyle Hamilton
The defense wasn’t great tonight, to say the least. But Kyle Hamilton was the lone star out there. He was constantly around the ball, making the plays he is known for. He blew up screens and run plays at the line of scrimmage. He broke up passes down the field. He picked off a two-point conversion attempt. He even got a piece of the game-winning field goal, but it wasn’t enough. Hamilton got paid like the highest-paid safety in the NFL and played like it tonight.
Missed Extra Point
Tyler Loop was really good to start his NFL career. He walked into a hostile, playoff environment in his first start and went six for six to open up, nailing field goals from 52 and 49 yards and his first four extra points. But he missed the last extra point. It shouldn’t have mattered; 40 points should have been enough to win any game. But if Loop hits his last extra point, that last field goal from Buffalo only ties the game. That might not have mattered because the Bills were in position to push for a touchdown if they wanted. But it still hurts to know the Ravens lost by one with a missed extra point on the spreadsheet.
The Pass Rush
The Ravens’ pass rush looked ineffective most of the game. It could have been by design, but it felt like the Ravens struggled to get in Josh Allen’s face, and it was frustrating to watch how much time Allen had to throw. The Ravens did eventually get...
