Failed Two-Point Conversion Seals The Victory
The Ravens turned away a last-second two-point conversion try by Philadelphia to hang on for a 27-26 win in Week 15. The RSR staff reacts to the win here:
Tyler Lombardi
Phew! What an escape that was. An all-around disappointing effort on both sides of the ball, and they still come away with a win on their last home game of the year.
Joe Flacco‘s stupid interception in the red zone when the Ravens were up by 10 set the comeback in motion, but the Ravens’ inability to stop the run was what kept the Eagles around. They’ll need to get that under control as they prepare to face the league’s best back.
I wouldn’t call what I’m feeling right now excitement. I’d call it relief.
Ryan Jones
The Ravens basically failed in every aspect despite winning the game.
On offense Joe Flacco gave away 14 points with a turnover on the Ravens five yard line and another as they were on the verge of putting the game away.
On defense they were gashed on the ground over and over and over again. What happened to the vaunted Ravens run defense? Next week against Le’Veon Bell could get ugly.
On special teams can someone tell Chris Moore and Lardarius Webb to back up on short kickoffs. Webb gave up about 10 yards because he had to retreat and couldn’t get momentum.
Anyone who thinks this team has any chance next week against Pittsburgh is delusional.
Joe Polek
Well they did it again. The Ravens fight and another close battle but this time hold on to win. The Eagles are not a playoff team so the only thing they should have done was go for 2 points at the end. Thankfully the Ravens were able to defend it properly. The good news is the Ravens called more running plays than they have in many weeks. The bad news is they still threw the ball more than they should have and Flacco had too many incompletions. The Ravens D has struggled against the run the last couple of weeks which is not good news as they get ready to face the Steelers. But if you care about them making the playoffs this season all comes down to Christmas afternoon.
Brian Bower
Never easy, never pretty as always and the Ravens were lucky to survive this afternoon. A complete meltdown by the offense and defense after halftime.
The game never needed to be that close and Flacco’s interception proved costly as did his fumble. There are no style points for a win thankfully and the Ravens needed to keep pace with Pittsburgh.
Their play must improve as they will be fighting for their playoff lives next Sunday.
Derek Arnold
I picked a score of 27-17 in this game. When that was the score with just a few minutes left, I was actually a bit annoyed that the Ravens were about to score (I’ve never gotten one perfectly right!). Then, thanks to the stupidest play call and throw of the season, the Eagles were suddenly back in the ball game and we were forced to sweat another one out. This team continues to have the same problems they’ve had all year, but this week they threw in the new wrinkle of not being able to stop the run at all – against a team with a QB who seemed afraid to throw the ball past the line of scrimmage after his first pass was intercepted until he absolutely had to, down two scores. Bet that Le’Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers will pay close attention to that film this week.
Carson Wentz on passes 10 yards in the air or more: 2 for 11 for 48 yards, 1 interception
— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) December 18, 2016
Tony Lombardi
The Ravens were about to take at least a 30-17 lead, perhaps more. With 6:21 to go Joe Flacco stared down a well covered Steve Smith, Sr. and tried to fit it into the end zone. He was so locked on Smith that he ignored the player shadowing him and the linebacker (Jordan Hicks) who dropped in coverage right in front of him. It was a boneheaded call to go with boneheaded execution that provided hope to a team that had nearly run out of it. The defense was soft, the front seven was trucked and if not for the tipped pass by C.J. Mosley, John Harbaugh’s career in Baltimore would have been…
Well you know.
