BALTIMORE – Boos rained down as the clock hit zero and the Baltimore Ravens’ last attempt to get into position for an equalizer or game-winning point was officially thwarted by the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Ravens’ first home game should be a celebration of the return of football, their status as legitimate Super Bowl contenders, their roster that includes a two-time MVP quarterback and a star-studded defense.
Instead, the home team provided a tutorial on how to blow a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and throw away a game it shouldn’t have lost. By the end of a gruesome 26-23 loss to the Raiders, the excitement at M&T Bank Stadium had completely evaporated.
If the Ravens don’t get things under control quickly, the excitement that has accompanied this season of great expectations will fade faster than Baltimore’s 23-13 lead on Sunday afternoon.
“We definitely shouldn’t be 0-2, but it is what it is,” Ravens middle linebacker Roquan Smith said.
GO DEEPER
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It is. And let’s be clear: These Ravens have fought their way to their first 0-2 record since 2015. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. In the losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Raiders, they were a mistake-prone, inconsistent football team that found ways to lose games instead of winning them. They were decidedly fearless, and that’s one of the reasons.
The loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Week 1 at Arrowhead Stadium is understandable, but there is no legitimate excuse for a healthy and rested team to lose at home to the Raiders, who only took the lead for the first time with 27 seconds left on Daniel Carlson’s 38-yard field goal.
“They were just better and that’s why they won,” said running back Derrick Henry, who ran for 84 yards and a touchdown. “We didn’t make the plays on offense that we should have made.”
The same goes for the defense and special teams. It was a team-wide collapse that allowed the Raiders to end a 49-game losing streak when trailing by 10 points or more in the fourth quarter.
“It felt more self-inflicted,” said left tackle Ronnie Stanley. “I felt like we had many, many opportunities to put the nail in the coffin and we just didn’t do it at the end.”
THROUGH THE UPWARD RIGHTS!#LVvsBAL | 📺 @ParamountPlus pic.twitter.com/XlBaWlcpcH
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) 15 September 2024
When it was over, Stanley ripped his helmet off his head and stomped back to the locker room as the boos grew louder. All three Ravens teams – and no doubt the coaching staff – had no reason to feel good.
The offense started extremely slow, had trouble completing attacks, and after seemingly taking control of the game with a 76-yard touchdown drive that ended with Henry’s energy-sapping 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter, it failed to pull away on three consecutive possessions, setting the stage for Las Vegas’ comeback. A Henry false start penalty negated a first down on the first drive, and guard Daniel Faalele’s inability to catch a slowing Maxx Crosby negated the next possession.
A Lamar Jackson interception that bounced off the hands of wide receiver Rashod Bateman in the third quarter – with the Ravens leading 16-6 – also resulted in a Raiders touchdown.
“We had the momentum,” said Jackson, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 247 yards, one touchdown and one interception and ran five times for 45 yards. “Up 23-13 in the fourth quarter. We’re usually done with teams by then.”
The defense that made the Raiders one-dimensional and seemed in control for the first three quarters collapsed at the end, allowing Las Vegas to score on its final four possessions. It couldn’t have been clearer what quarterback Gardner Minshew II, who beat Baltimore on home turf for the second consecutive year, was up to.
And yet the Ravens couldn’t stop Minshew from finding star receiver Davante Adams (nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown) and tight end Brock Bowers (nine catches for 98 yards) when it mattered. When they did, Tra Blake’s referee team ruled they hadn’t done so legally. Cornerback Brandon Stephens’ pass interference penalty in the end zone on third-and-goal from Baltimore’s 17-yard line with just over four minutes left in the game led to Minshew’s 1-yard touchdown to tie the game for Adams.
WE ARE NOT GOING ANYWHERE 😤#LVvsBAL | 📺 @ParamountPlus pic.twitter.com/IwDxFkwp6c
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) 15 September 2024
“I think the penalties extended the drives — that was the worst part,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “If those drives aren’t extended and you push them back, you’re off the field and then they don’t have an opportunity to make plays. If the drive is extended for some reason and you’re playing with really good playmakers, all of a sudden the play is made, a pass is made here and there and all that.”
Special teams also played a role in the loss. Kick returner John Kelly, after much hesitation, made the odd decision to take the ball out of the end zone, giving the Ravens poor field position before a crucial fourth-quarter drive. Punter Jordan Stout had a brutal 24-yard strike that, combined with a Ka’dar Hollman penalty, gave the Raiders the ball at the Baltimore 43-yard line with the score tied and 2:21 left to play. Five plays later, Carlson set up for a game-winning field goal.
Then there was Justin Tucker’s recent miss from over 50 yards late in the second quarter, which was even more devastating as his counterpart Carlson made 4 of 4 throws, including two from over 50 yards and the game-winning 38-yarder.
“As simple as I can say it, it’s not my favorite topic, but I missed the kick by a small margin,” said Tucker, who has made just one of his last seven throws from 50-plus yards. “I don’t want to continue that conversation. When I go on the field, I’m confident that I’m going to sink every single kick, no matter where we are on the field. Today was no different.”
Harbaugh also drew criticism for using two challenges. The first challenge involved fighting an incomplete pass from Zay Flowers in the second quarter that bounced off the ground, preventing Jackson from making a throw into the end zone. The Ravens settled for a 32-yard field goal from Tucker and went into halftime with a 9-6 lead. The second challenge, in which Adams completed a pass from the sideline, gave the Ravens one less timeout to stop the clock late in the fourth quarter.
“Well, that one in the first half was close,” Harbaugh said. “I thought that was a real chance. We had two timeouts. We had a ton of time, it almost felt like we were taking a timeout and giving our guys a chance to catch their breath, which is what I wanted to do, so it was worth the shot. The other one was such a risky play. We had such a chance and we were so quick. I just thought it was worth the shot in the heat of the moment.”
After the game, a calm Harbaugh said the Ravens would get back to work. He did not comment on any changes to his struggling offensive line, saying he would have to watch the tape first. The Ravens certainly have good reasons to bench Faalele for the more experienced Ben Cleveland or Josh Jones.
“The message is that we define our season,” Harbaugh said. “We’re not going to let everybody define us by saying we’re not good … or that the season is over after two games. That’s going to be said, and we understand that, but they’re not here. They’re not inside. Nobody inside is going to say that. We’ve got to take care of our stuff, take care of our business and take care of our jobs. We know we’re a good football team, and we’re going to keep getting better and better and better and dictate the season by the way we play.”
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However, history is not in the Ravens’ favor. They started 0-2 on four other occasions and not only missed the playoffs during those years, but also failed to finish with a win.
Looking at it from a broader perspective, of the nine teams that started 0-2 last year, only the Houston Texans made the playoffs. Last year’s Texans and the 2022 Cincinnati Bengals are the only teams in the last five years to start 0-2 and still qualify for the postseason. Going back even further, since 2015, 74 teams have started 0-2 and only eight have made the playoffs.
To make matters even more difficult, the Ravens’ next three games are at Dallas (1-1), at home against Buffalo (2-0) and at Cincinnati (0-2). They are already two games behind the first-place Pittsburgh Steelers.
“At the end of the day, we all have to get better,” said tight end Mark Andrews. “Period.”
(Photo of Lamar Jackson and Maxx Crosby: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
