The Forty, the Fumble, and the Fucking Déjà Vu

[Dom McRaven]

I don't really blame the defense. They were absolutely gased after the Ravens kept scoring so quick and as a result, at the end, Allen basically had all day to complete passes.

It all comes down to having an offense that could score at will and trying to use it to burn clock when it really mattered. Coaching scared as usual and he always does it in the worst circumstances, against the best teams , with the best QBs who can take advantage of it.

That and punting on 4th and 2 against a defense who couldn't stop us all night.

I do. Two missed opportunities to get an INT on Allen. It's one thing to only sack Allen once, but it's not like we made it difficult for him out there. I mean, we couldn't even make him feel uncomfortable to SOME extent? Now granted the Bills have a really good OL but still. This pass-rush isn't gonna do that much when you have KVN and Oweh as your top pass-rushers.

We haven't lost a game I think when Henry had over 100+ yards rush.

Well we definitely blew this tonight

You can thank Henry for contributing to this loss as well.

 

[Rusfan]

Someone else tell me what Harbs had to say at his stupid conference, if I watch it I might stroke out

 

[UPennChem]

I blame the defense in near entirety.

Yes, the Henry fumble was a colossal mistake. Yes, the PAT loomed really large. I'm not minimizing those mistakes.

However, when an offense scores 40 points, you expect to win. When a team leads by 15 with under 11 to go in the fourth, you expect to win.

It is absolutely amazing to me that a team with...

The second highest paid DT at the time of signing (now fourth), highest paid safety in NFL history, highest paid ILB at the time of signing (now second), two first round corners, two first round safeties, a top 10 pick at ILB, and a first round OLB

Still struggles as hard as they do. And yes, I understand that a few of those overlap, but the point remains the same: the Ravens have invested absolutely insane amounts into the defense and the fact that they're not producing at an even average level is astounding.

I was wary of Orr, but I had thought the veteran leadership that was brought in had helped him turn the corner. Obviously, it's one bad game against a very strong AFC team, but it's just unacceptable for the investment they've made into the defense to produce results like that.

It's unbelievable.

Nothing could be more correct. The issue is that this is a years long nightmare

 

[SepticeyePoe]

The defense was gassed cause they couldn't get off the field.


I'm sure that has nothing to do with coaching... consistently for over a decade this team has fallen apart in high pressure moments. We won that SB by the grace of God and Greg Roman

And Greg Roman was a Jimmy Smith away from winning too

 

[allblackraven]

I blame the defense in near entirety.

Yes, the Henry fumble was a colossal mistake. Yes, the PAT loomed really large. I'm not minimizing those mistakes.

However, when an offense scores 40 points, you expect to win. When a team leads by 15 with under 11 to go in the fourth, you expect to win.

It is absolutely amazing to me that a team with...

The second highest paid DT at the time of signing (now fourth), highest paid safety in NFL history, highest paid ILB at the time of signing (now second), two first round corners, two first round safeties, a top 10 pick at ILB, and a first round OLB

Still struggles as hard as they do. And yes, I understand that a few of those overlap, but the point remains the same: the Ravens have invested absolutely insane amounts into the defense and the fact that they're not producing at an even average level is astounding.

I was wary of Orr, but I had thought the veteran leadership that was brought in had helped him turn the corner. Obviously, it's one bad game against a very strong AFC team, but it's just unacceptable for the investment they've made into the defense to produce results like that.

It's unbelievable.

Turns out, you need to invest in coaches, too.

 

[Truth]

I'm not a fan of subbing out Derrick Henry before the Zay Flowers endaround. With a single 1st down needed, the idea of Henry rushing on 2nd and 9 is still a viable threat. It's more difficult to hold the front with your 3rd down RB.

The fumble was the obvious momentum changer. But I do feel like the underrated story is the amount of missed turnovers in comparison. 3, by my count. And the touch back that would've otherwise been at the 1 yard line. If I'm not mistaken, that drive led to a TD. It's a mental block at this point. The offense needs to play perfectly in these big games, because we're just not winning the turnover margin.

 

[UPennChem]

I'm not a fan of subbing out Derrick Henry before the Zay Flowers endaround. With a single 1st down needed, the idea of Henry rushing on 2nd and 9 is still a viable threat. It's more difficult to hold the front with your 3rd down RB.

The fumble was the obvious momentum changer. But I do feel like the underrated story is the amount of missed turnovers in comparison. 3, by my count. And the touch back that would've otherwise been at the 1 yard line. If I'm not mistaken, that drive led to a TD. It's a mental block at this point. The offense needs to play perfectly in these big games, because we're just not winning the turnover margin.

Or just getting any pass rush at all

 

[Truth]

Also, Jaire Alexander did not look terrific tonight. Even the stop he had at the end, would've been preferable to just let them score at that point.

 

[Truth]

Or just getting any pass rush at all

That hurt as well. It is a unique QB to rush. We got close at times, but we'd have definitely turned the tide with a few immediately beats on the edges.

 

[UPennChem]

Did anyone even see Oweh tonight? I saw KVN look like he could barely move. I saw TRob get thrown around and stonewalled. I saw Mike Green do fuck all.

 

[Davesta]

Zach Orr isn’t it. Dude sucks

 

[Simba]

Also, Jaire Alexander did not look terrific tonight. Even the stop he had at the end, would've been preferable to just let them score at that point.

He looked exactly like a guy that has barely practiced in recent weeks, or at least I hope that’s the reason. Seems like there were better options at that stage of the game after watching him look so flat all night.

 

[JO_75]

 

[Truth]

He looked exactly like a guy that has barely practiced in recent weeks, or at least I hope that’s the reason. Seems like there were better options at that stage of the game after watching him look so flat all night.

Fair. I'd like to lean into this exclusively, but he's been terrific in past years when returning from injuries. It's one week and arguably his worst, so this could easily be a blip. Just unfortunate that a decent amount of the second half production went in the direction of someone brought it to stop it.

 

[Simba]

Fair. I'd like to lean into this exclusively, but he's been terrific in past years when returning from injuries. It's one week and arguably his worst, so this could easily be a blip. Just unfortunate that a decent amount of the second half production went in the direction of someone brought it to stop it.

Agreed. I don’t want to make excuses by any means. He should have been better if his past is any indication. But also on them for realizing that he wasn’t it tonight and still running him out there. Can’t always just rely on past pedigree when the poor results are right in front of your face.

He just simply looked flat all night and I’m hoping it’s a case of not being quite ready vs. a case of damages goods.

 

[airconteka]

Look, you don’t understand John Harbaugh. You think he just “lost” to the Bills? Nah. This is 4D chess, not football checkers.

Last season, the Ravens took care of Buffalo in the regular season, felt good, got the hype—only to get smacked in January when it mattered. Harbs doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He’s playing the long game.

By dropping the regular season game, he flips the script. No overconfidence. No bulletin-board material. He gives McDermott just enough rope, lets Josh Allen think he’s got it figured out. Come playoff time? BOOM. The trap shuts. The Bills walk right into the ambush, Baltimore’s ready, and suddenly Harbaugh looks like a coaching genius who sacrificed a meaningless September W to cash in on the one that actually matters.

It’s not losing—it’s investing.

 

[Simba]

It’s a minor one on paper but I think the missed PAT is much bigger deal than most realize… not because of the miss but because I don’t think we should have been kicking at all. A 15 point vs. 16 point decision wasn’t going to be a significant difference as it’s a 2 possession deficit either way. Go for 2 and try to make it a 3 possession deficit.

 

[purplepittabread88]

I was devistated when the bills didn't get the two point because everyone knew it would be 3 straight weak runs none to Lamar punt and game

 

[SepticeyePoe]

Look, you don’t understand John Harbaugh. You think he just “lost” to the Bills? Nah. This is 4D chess, not football checkers.

Last season, the Ravens took care of Buffalo in the regular season, felt good, got the hype—only to get smacked in January when it mattered. Harbs doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He’s playing the long game.

By dropping the regular season game, he flips the script. No overconfidence. No bulletin-board material. He gives McDermott just enough rope, lets Josh Allen think he’s got it figured out. Come playoff time? BOOM. The trap shuts. The Bills walk right into the ambush, Baltimore’s ready, and suddenly Harbaugh looks like a coaching genius who sacrificed a meaningless September W to cash in on the one that actually matters.

It’s not losing—it’s investing.

He threw Alexander under the bus so we could bring Bobby Jackson back

 

[29BmoreBird22]

Turns out, you need to invest in coaches, too.

I've long been on the fence about Harbaugh. He's clearly a coach that always gives you a chance and keeps the team competitive, but is he going to be the one to elevate and take the team to the next level? It's becoming tough to believe that'll be the case.

It's just absolutely amazing that the Ravens have arguably the best QB, RB, and S in the NFL with a top 10 CB and a strong and deep roster elsewhere, but can't get it done.

I've also been critical of EDC and his development of the roster. The allocation of resources has not paid off and the team has really fallen short in the areas that really matter as the team tries to go left while the rest of the league goes right (poor guard play, likely looking at Linderbaum leaving, poor pass rush.)