On Saturday the Ravens will attempt to advance to their 4th AFC Championship Game in the last seven seasons.
Let that sink in for a moment.
As a team they’ve overcome many obstacles and fought through adversity that could have derailed seasons for teams that lack the backbone of John Harbaugh’s club.
And for all of you who think that the 2014 Coach of the Year Award should go to Bruce Arians (and he’ll probably get it), try again! John Harbaugh is the deserving recipient.
[RELATED LINK: Harbaugh Guides Ravens Through Adversity]
But back to those AFC Championship Games…
2008 Season
When the stakes are so high, mistakes are so costly particularly when they happen late in a ballgame. Take for instance the major blunder the Ravens made back during the 2008 AFCC.
Trailing 16-14 at Heinz Field the Ravens forced a punt with 7:00 to go in the game. Jim Leonhard fielded the punt and was run out of bounds at the Ravens 39-yard line with 6:50 remaining.
Just prior to the punt, the game’s momentum was shifting towards the Ravens with their defense in total control. And in the game’s final minutes they had a chance to put things away.
But an insanely stupid penalty against Daren Stone for tossing a Steeler unnecessarily out of bounds cost the Ravens critical field position and essentially the game. They were then forced to start the drive from the 14-yard line. The field was re-tilted in the Steelers favor and momentum snatched away.
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Five plays later Troy Polamalu intercepted Joe Flacco and returned it for the score.
23-14 Steelers!
Game, set, match, Super Bowl dreams crushed.
2011 Season
Fast forward 3 seasons when the Ravens traveled to Foxboro to take on the Patriots in the AFCC.
The Patriots took a 23-20 lead late in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was a back and forth struggle as the teams exchanged possessions.
With 1:44 left Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense took over at their own 21 needing a field goal to stay alive. Flacco taking advantage of a depleted Patriots secondary that included WR Julian Edelman in coverage, connected with Anquan Boldin 3 times during the drive, covering 51 yards to set up a first-and-ten at the New England 23 with 0:51 remaining and 1 timeout to burn.
Flacco again went to Boldin who fumble out of bounds at the Patriots 10 to set up a 2nd and 1 at the 14 and 0:27 to go. On the next play Flacco hit Lee Evans with a well-placed back shoulder throw and you know the rest of the story…
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On 3rd-and-1 Flacco threw a dangerous pass to Dennis Pitta short of the end zone. I’ve often wondered why Cam Cameron didn’t try a run from the shotgun to Rice to get the first down. The Ravens had a timeout and 22 seconds. A first probably gives them a couple more shots at the end zone. A failed run and they at least go into overtime with the chip shot field goal with momentum.
Obviously that’s all water under the bridge, the HUGE mistake in this one being the field goal unit’s inability to get on the field in a timely fashion without having to rush.
Now we’ve all heard that the scoreboard clock read third down but that’s no excuse. When a Super Bowl berth is on the line and Jerry Rosburg doesn’t have his entire FG team queued up and ready, you get the Cundiff hook that unfortunately has burned an indelible impression upon our collective mind.
2012 Season
But that loss really marked the beginning of the following season when the Ravens would atone for their mistakes.
[youtube width=”540″ height=”438″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgX9RSbPVUw[/youtube]
Can the Ravens make it 4 of 7 on Saturday?
