Tough home loss on Sunday, right?
We’ve been here before.
Let’s flash back eleven years ago, to January 13. 2007, an AFC Divisional Playoff game in Baltimore. The 13-3 Ravens had the second-best record in the league and had earned a bye. Led by Steve McNair, the Ravens were looking to beat up the hated 12-4 Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning. NBC crews are roaming the parking lots before the game interviewing fans for their takes on the Irsay family and anyone else connected to the Colts.
As a former Baltimore Colt season ticket holder myself, I voiced my outrage to the crew over the theft of my team in a March 1984 snowstorm. The Ravens are confident, the fans are angry.
So, what happened?
The Ravens defense does its job; The great Manning has two interceptions, no TDs, and a QB rating of 40. Easy Ravens win, right?
Nope. Steve McNair has what is certainly the worst playoff game of his career throwing 2 picks, no TDs, and finishes with a QB rating of 50. Jamal Lewis rushes for barely 50 yards. The Ravens intercept Manning twice but fail to capitalize and they lose, on 5 Adam Vinatieri field goals, 15-6. I didn’t leave my seat for long minutes. I remember sitting there. saying to myself, “how the hell did this happen?”
Fast forward to this past Sunday. The 9-6 Ravens are playing the 6-9 Bengals at home with a 97% chance of making the playoffs. Playing in the coldest game ever at M&T Bank Stadium, the Ravens stumble badly out of the gate and are behind 17-3 late in the second quarter. The stadium is less than half full, but we are in high warble. The boos are raining down at the stadium. Then a 90-yard kickoff return and subsequent TD reception by Chris Moore seconds before the half ignites the team and the crowd.
Over the course of the next two quarters the Ravens find their offensive touch, shut down the Bengals offense, and gain the lead 27-24. By now, Buffalo, Tennessee, and San Diego have all won their games. There’s no more suspense. The players can read the score board as well as the fans. Now, it’s win or…
Nah, we got this.
It’s less than one minute left, 4th and 12, and Andy Dalton is back for one last futile pass. Then we can all go home, thaw out, celebrate the Ravens win and the New Year!
The fans are screaming.
But wait!
Dalton completes a desperation pass between two defenders to Tyler Boyd with 44 seconds left. Then Boyd escapes a tackle and scampers into the end zone.
WHAT?
You have got to be kidding me!
Except for the shouting from the Cincinnati bench and the few Bengals fans in attendance, the raucous stadium quiets to a whisper. Seconds later, the game is over. And I’m left, like I was 11 years ago, to sit in my seat and again ponder,”How the hell did this happen?
As the great philosopher Yogi Berra would put it, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”
I’m not going to dissect the loss here. Better football minds than mine on this web site have already done that. But it’s obvious it has left this team at a critical crossroads. Where are we and what are we left with?
[Related Article: Ravens v. Bengals Good, Bad & Ugly]
Missing the playoffs 4 years out of 5 years, a quarterback who has regressed markedly from his Super Bowl winning form, draft choices that have not panned out, veteran free agents who’ve left their best on the field years ago playing for other teams, and coordinators who are seemingly out of touch with the strategic minds of today’s NFL game.
And maybe a head coach and general manager who are too.
Looking back 11 years, things quickly unraveled for those 2006 Ravens. In 2007 the team was 4-2 after six games. They went 1-9 the rest of year, including a loss to the winless Dolphins, and finished 5-11. Brian Billick managed to alienate everyone in the locker room and Steve Bisciotti fired him after the season.
For the 2017 Ravens, change is also in the air. We just don’t know how much or how soon. Fan dissatisfaction on many fronts adds another dimension to this situation. For the first time since the team moved here, fans, in large numbers, are not coming to the games. Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees has already announced his retirement to the satisfaction of many, and fans feel even more strongly that Marty Mornhinweg should also be shown the door.
Who knows what other changes Steve Bisciotti will “suggest” to John Harbaugh? It could be a regime change that takes down the entire coaching staff. There are some who wouldn’t mind seeing that either.
So, what now?
Players talk all the time about putting injuries, losses, and seasons behind them. Well, so can I. For the time being, and for as long as it lasts, this Ravens fan has become an auxiliary member of the Bills Mafia.
