Ravens Flock, if you’re like me this week, you’re shell-shocked. Like the Charger game, Sunday’s game against the Bengals was a runaway, but this time we were on the receiving end of the thrashing. It kept feeling we had a chance to climb back into it, but, as the game progressed, that likelihood seemed further and further away. Pass play after pass play shredded our defense on critical downs for what felt like hundreds of broken tackles, and my brain simply couldn’t come to terms with what I was seeing.
I was in denial. In retrospect, that makes sense, because, as many of us know, denial is the first of the stages of grief.
Friends from other fan bases were reaching out to check on me. My girlfriend tried to create a comforting atmosphere in the wake of this disaster. I sought some emotional refuge in just hoping that my fantasy team would win (they did, and the Truss Fund Kids currently sit in 1st place). It helped, but it only dulled the pangs of a brutal division loss.
Let’s face it, y’all… we as a fan base experienced a traumatic football event on Sunday. Given the circumstances, I want us to take the time for some self-care. After all, we’re heading into a BYE week, and it’s important to be mentally ready when the Ravens to take the field again in Week 9.
My colleague Adam Bonaccorsi already went through the 5 Stages of Grief for Ravens fans this morning. Let’s take a look at how some of the players and coaches are dealing with it…
Lamar Jackson took to Twitter after the game and noted his displeasure with the way the game played out, but he seems to be using it to fuel the fire moving forward:
Fasho we hungry? though my boy that wasn’t our best they played a good game? https://t.co/X6TSCEMwzp
— Lamar Jackson (@Lj_era8) October 25, 2021
While Coach Harbaugh may not have been outright angry, it definitely sounds like he’s still simmering some with the way that the game played out. In the post-game presser, Coach Harbaugh said, “You have to come out and play your best every week, and we did not play our best – far from it – really, in any phase, and that’s on us. That’s it. That’s what happened.”
The accountability piece is good, as it eventually leads to acceptance. It allows us to look forward to the things we can control (like future matchups) and to let go of the things we can’t (like injuries or past losses).
Are my Zen teachings working yet? No? Ok, let’s keep trying.
Usually, when we talk about the grieving process, bargaining manifests in the form of thinking things like, “If only I would’ve done (x) differently, maybe this wouldn’t have turned out this way.” As fans, we didn’t have any real control of what was going on either, so there wasn’t a lot of bargaining for us outside of thinking, “if only SOMEONE could tackle today.”
While most football players are known to just move onto the next game mentally, one Raven did sound like he was still in the bargaining stages with a similar sentiment. Tyus Bowser discussed what might have been if the tackling had looked better (via Jonas Shaffer on Twitter):
Ravens OLB Tyus Bowser gets to the heart of the matter: “We would have been OK if we would have just tackled, but they got the best end of it, and that’s what kind of hurt us the most."
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) October 24, 2021
One fan at M&T, though, tried a different type of bargaining. From the sound of it, a fan sitting close to the radio booth for WBAL who was VERY lit decided to see if they could bargain with members of the broadcast crew to help them find a drink. While I understand the temptation to find refuge on a game day in a brew, moderation is important.
Please note: attempting to climb into the box with the radio crew to ask for a drink is NOT moderation:
Insane moment on Ravens radio as a fan tries to climb into the broadcast booth looking for a drink: pic.twitter.com/RIA8lQjk4v
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) October 24, 2021
In all seriousness, this is only funny because everything worked out fine. You can hear the fear in Femi Ayanbadejo’s voice as this situation unfolds, because there’s no telling what this rando climbing up into the booth was there for. From the sound of it, Femi did a better job of defending the booth than the team did of defending the field, and it’s safe to say the booth-crasher probably didn’t get to stay until the end of this nasty affair.
Players and fans alike were really unhappy about the aftermath of this one, and it was no secret. Lamar seemed to be processing some of his own pain:
“It hurts – period – because I lost. We lost – not just myself – and I hate losing,” Jackson said. “It doesn’t really matter when it comes; I just hate it – period.”
I’ll spare you the rest of the depression out there, because, let’s face it, most of you are on social media and saw it first-hand. There’s no other way to put it: It was a real bummer to watch. Not only did the team suffer a loss on the scoreboard, they sustained another potentially costly injury as Pat Mekari went down with a reported high-ankle sprain. I’ll depend on Jonas Shaffer’s Twitter once again to speak for all of us:
Just what the offensive line needs. Yikes. https://t.co/fsu2XsGeDj
— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) October 25, 2021
This is an important distinction: I’m not asking you to be happy that we lost. That game sucked out loud, but as Calais Campbell said, “We can’t let this game beat us twice.” Calais was feeling the sting, but emphasized that we live to fight another day:
#Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell on loss to Bengals: "It hurts. It's going to burn. Division game at home, but at the end of the day, [we have] a whole lot of football left to play. It's as simple as that." https://t.co/0ZVaEAHvn3
— PressBox (@PressBoxOnline) October 25, 2021
We have to take this season for what it is to this point and be prepared for the challenge ahead. Marlon Humphrey, who had one of the roughest games of his career, is one of the best examples of a player moving on from depression to acceptance:
Giving up 250 yards hurts I gotta play better….time to get back in the Lab
— Marlon Humphrey (@marlon_humphrey) October 24, 2021
He also acknowledged his struggles against rookie standout Ja’Marr Chase without hesitation, saying “I lost that matchup. A lot of that was kind of on me.” While it may not be a ton of consolation, he’s handling this the right way: take ownership of what went wrong, move on, and do what you can to prepare for the future.
The experience of this game is fresh in all of our minds, but it’s going to fade. If you told me before the season that, even with all of these injuries, the Ravens would be 5-2 at the BYE, I would’ve accepted that with no questions asked. This team has been galvanized by pushing through adversity this year, and we as fans are still likely to have a really good product for the remainder of the season.
This coming Sunday, kick back and relax. Eat a ton of Halloween candy. And as you’re cheering for the Jets to pull off what would be a stunning win against Cincy, just remember: this loss was depressing, but you’re not a Jets fan. Life could definitely be worse.
