It was a night to remember in Baltimore, and that makes for a fun morning to go through the Twitter timeline and see what everyone is saying about the purple and black. Let’s get right to it…
Let’s start at the top. With a packed house at M&T Bank Stadium for the first time since the 2019 postseason, the Ravens pulled out all the stops. First up was a tribute to the late Michael K. Williams, the actor who portrayed the iconic “Omar” character on David Simon’s masterpiece The Wire.
For Omar ? pic.twitter.com/NT6TugVaEf
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 20, 2021
(for the uninitiated, that’s Omar whistling “The Farmer in the Dell.” See here for context:
Simon noticed.
Heard the sound of Omar whistling “Farmer In The Dell” from the stadium while walking across the Ostend Street bridge to the Ravens opener and thought I’d lost my shit. It’s the little things that are gonna get me, I guess. But Michael gonna last.
— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 20, 2021
When you need to get a Baltimore football crowd fired up, there’s no better recipe than bringing out Ray Lewis to do The Squirrel dance, which is exactly what happened next.
.@RayLewis is here to hype everyone up… even the @Chiefs ?
?: #KCvsBAL on NBC
?: https://t.co/SsXyNx0bwQ pic.twitter.com/WmHRKWYntQ— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2021
Pregame festivities completed, the Ravens of course then proceeded to stumble out of the gates but ultimately fight back to take down their kryptonite in the Kansas City Chiefs. See our knee-jerk reactions and report card for the game, and stay tuned for plenty more post-game analysis at RSR.
For now, let’s see what the win led everyone else to take home.
Much of the talk was about John Harbaugh’s decision to go for the fourth-and-one to ice the game, and former Bengals WR Ochocinco appreciated the uh…cajones.
Harbaugh had the testicles of Achilles outside of the gates of Troy on that 4th down ?
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) September 20, 2021
Former Baltimore Sun sportswriter Kevin Van Valkenburg, now at ESPN, made a point that I think many Ravens fans will appreciate.
Whenever people express doubts about Lamar and building an offense around him, it reveals a certain ignorance about what it was like to watch SO MUCH boring offensive FB here in Baltimore for 15+ years. Fans needed games like this, win or lose, just to have fun watching again.
— Kevin Van Valkenburg (@KVanValkenburg) September 20, 2021
Of course, it’s much more fun when you win, but I think we’d all agree that this particular brand of football is much needed after the years and years of offensive ineptitude.
Up in the stands, Patrick Mahomes’ brother Jackson was being heckled by some Ravens fans, and didn’t handle it too well.
Jackson Mahomes helps a rowdy Ravens fan hydrate after a crushing Chiefs loss (via ig: Bobbysworld88) pic.twitter.com/blJGztZhW0
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 20, 2021
Back to the actual players…
Never one to shy away from hyperbole, Colin Cowherd made quite a statement here.
Lamar. King of the AFC QB’s.
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) September 20, 2021
It wouldn’t be a Ravens game without some complaining about the officials, right? The Ravens appeared to convert a two-point conversion to pull within a FG at 35-32 early in the fourth quarter, but it was called back on an illegal man downfield flag on Kevin Zeitler. On replay, it was clear that Zeitler was just pulled into the end zone by the man he was engaging with. It was a terrible call, and the Ravens failed to get two on the follow-up attempt. While all’s well that ends well, the NFL zebras just continue to be the absolute worst.
New strategy: Pull an OL forward until he’s an ineligible man downfield.
What a terrible call. ?
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) September 20, 2021
The Ravens running game continues to impress. A QB at the top of this list is crazy enough of course, but check out #3!
Leaders in Rush Yards Over Expectation from @NextGenStats:
Lamar Jackson +109
Derrick Henry +48
Ty'Son Williams +45
Devin Singletary +42
Nick Chubb +40
Melvin Gordon +40— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) September 20, 2021
It was looking like just another heartbreaking Ravens loss to the Chiefs as the clock ticked toward zero, but rookie Odafe Oweh made not just one but two of the game’s pivotal defensive plays.
First, he dragged Mahomes down on a “layered” pressure, causing the QB’s first ever September interception to float into the waiting arms of Tavon Young.
INTERCEPTION @TY_Real1 ❗️❗️
Tune in on NBC! pic.twitter.com/dciNmw9DfL
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 20, 2021
Then, he not only stripped Clyde Edwards-Helaire, but recovered the fumble as well.
ODAFE OWEH WELCOME TO THE LEAGUE!
NOW ON NBC! pic.twitter.com/6hDbrKClBX
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 20, 2021
Oweh is making an immediate impact through two games, and the first-rounder is living up to his draft stock as the team’s most important OLB already.
It's pretty remarkable that after just 2 games in his career, @JaysonOweh already led ALL OLB snaps. In those 2 games, he's notched a sack, a strip fumble & QB hits that led to 2 INTs on 3rd downs. And several hurries/pressures. #Ravens #RavensFlock https://t.co/HcnU1mA48l
— Dev Panchwagh (@devpanchwagh) September 20, 2021
While the Ravens have won a ton of games over the past decade-plus, comebacks were never a big part of their game. It’s fitting that just a week after blowing a 14-point regular season lead for the first time in forever, the Ravens pulled off their largest late comeback of the John Harbaugh era.
The Ravens came back to win from down 11 in the 4th quarter for the first time since 2006 at CLE.
Only two other teams had gone longer without winning a game in which they were down by more than 10 points in Q4: the Falcons (last in 1993) and Washington (2005).#RavensFlock https://t.co/XElOuyumAI
— Elias Sports Bureau (@EliasSports) September 20, 2021
Not just one monkey off their back, but two! That still counts even if you didn’t realize the second one was there, right?
I could do this all day, but that seems like as good a stopping point as any.
Enjoy this wonderful Victory Monday, Flockers!
