Baltimore Beatdown
The Baltimore Beatdown staff react to the Ravens’ 27-25 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The Baltimore Ravens’ season ends in the Divisional Round of the playoffs to the Buffalo Bills. Contributors for Baltimore Beatdown give their reaction to the season-ending game.
Only the Ravens could stop the Ravens. All season, their greatest weakness was themselves. After a season of record-breaking efficiency, production and domination, they succumbed to the greatest of errors in the worst moments. Twice, Jackson turned the ball over. Mark Andrews lost the ball, too, on a poor decision to not go down or protect the football after a 16-yard reception. Then, with the game a two-point conversion away, Andrews failed to secure the catch.
Yes, the Bills made plays. I’m not here to discredit them. But the Ravens’ errors were theirs. Tyler Linderbaum’s bad snap put Jackson in a volatile spot. He failed to make something of it and turned it into something worse. His interception was a miscue, not a defensive back making a great play. Andrews’ fumble was a poor decision — along with a great play from linebacker Terrel Bernard. And Andrews’ drop was unforced. It was their own misdeeds to create their own undoing.
Fans will want change. But what change is there to offer? Certainly, the coaching staff has preached and coached to not make these errors. Ultimately, it’s a player’s game and the Ravens’ players made more errors. There is fault in areas from a coaching standpoint, but ultimately, the loss is on the shoulders of the errors from players, which only makes things more disappointing. — Kyle Phoenix
To win in the NFL, you have got to hold onto the football. The Ravens couldn’t do that against the Bills and were promptly booted from the playoffs as a result.
This offseason will be filled with questions about Lamar Jackson (unmerited) and the coaching staff (slightly less unmerited), but the mistakes on Sunday were spread across the roster. Football is a game of 11 players, working in perfect harmony. If one note is off, the symphony falls apart.
Of course, none of this is new to Baltimore. To that end, there’s not really that much more to say. Is it coaching? Is it nerves? Or is it just that football can be a cruel, unforgiving game, in which the best teams can have their worst games at the worst times. — Nikhil Mehta
The Ravens lost the turnover battle 0-3 today and had four times as many penalty yards as Buffalo today. Despite that, with less than 4 minutes to go, the Ravens were within a touchdown and a two-point conversion of the Bills. You can’t change my mind on who the better team was.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter at the end of the day. The old playoff Ravens showed up. Panic, drops, mistakes, soft play, the offensive line getting bullied at times, defense too soft at times. At times there were good plays from certain units but...
