Held off on posting my "takes" for a few days, mostly to let the hangover and stench of disappointment dissipate.
1. We got outcoached... badly. It was pretty clear by the 2nd quarter that we had real no offensive direction, and that the idea that we may fall behind in a game by more than 7 points was something we were totally unprepared for. Somehow, we abandoned the run in an 8 point game for a lengthy period of time. It would be hard to sell the idea that we can't run the ball just because Ingram is hurt.
I understand the thought that the Titans pushed us around up front, and that they committed to stopping the run, but that doesn't mean you stop running it all together. And we did.
Roman had as bad of a day as any player did in my opinion.
I, like everybody, have loved the aggressiveness of Harbaugh all year long. But in my opinion, this game should have been all about forcing the Titans to sustain long drives and go the length of the field. And they weren't able to do that.
Trailing 7-0 on your own 45 yard line, and you go for it on 4th and 1. To me, the risk doesn't even equal the reward. If you get it, great, now what? Still need 20 more yards just to get in FG range. If you don't get it, your opponent is 10 yards away from a double digit lead in a playoff game, and the air is sucked out of the building. AND, when its clear that your team has no plan for what to do when trailing by 10+ points, I'm not putting my team in that spot.
2. Probably an unpopular opinion, but I found what Henry did to be largely irrelevant in this game. Nice stats, popped off a long run or two, but most of it was later in the game with a good lead. The Titans (with help from the Ravens) forced sloppy turnovers and capitalized on our mistakes. We've had mistakes this year, but we typically do a good job of limiting them. That didn't happen today.
Short fields all day long. Three scoring drives for the Titans of 45 yards or less. You could give the Redskins that kind of field position, and they'd make it a game. Certainly not going to work with a playoff team.
3. This is the game everybody said we couldn't win, and they were right. How do you beat the Ravens? Get out in front early, and make Lamar throw it to beat you. He put up gawdy stats, but early in the 2nd half it was clear that it wasn't going to matter.
I'm not going to spend time calling out individual players, because very few warrant mentioning as having a "good game". Tons of dropped passes, Oline got owned, and the defense, while I didn't think played terribly, got bullied late in the game and were the least physical team on the field.
For me, it was the most disappointing loss in franchise history, and I don't think that's a stretch. Top seed in the league, the "big bear" in the AFC already knocked out, and a home game one step from the AFCCG game. Getting beat in a close game is one thing. Getting owned in your building by a team that did nothing more than capitalize on your own mistakes is a tough pill to swallow.
This one will sting all the way through the offseason.
