After the first quarter of last night’s Wild Card game in Cincinnati, the Bengals had out-gained the Ravens 107 yards to 25; they ran 17 more plays (22 to 5) and possessed the ball for 12:41 v. the visitor’s 2:19. It looked like the game could go sideways fast with Tyler Huntley at the controls.
To the Ravens credit, they didn’t panic, stuck to their game plan and it could be argued that in the end they were the better team in all phases of the game except on the scoreboard. From the second quarter on the Ravens out-gained Cincinnati 339 yards to 127; ran 61 plays to the Bengals 32; and Baltimore controlled the clock to the tune of 30:07 to 14:53.
But it wasn’t enough.
The play that will forever define this game is Tyler Huntley’s fumble at the goal line. In seconds, a potential 7-point lead became a 7-point deficit and ultimately the difference in the game. The personnel package that offensive coordinator Greg Roman sent out onto the field did not include a single wide out, so it stands to reason that with the players positioned behind Huntley (Patrick Ricard, Mark Andrews and Gus Edwards) and the QB under center, the Ravens planned a pile-drive behind Huntley to get the needed yard for the score. Huntley had other plans.
Sam Hubbard takes the fumble 98 yards for the TD ‼️
📺: #BALvsCIN on NBC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/hNJJJGqxGF pic.twitter.com/PoVImXrfpz— NFL (@NFL) January 16, 2023
“[At] the time, I just felt like everybody was packed in”, said Huntley. “They shot for our O-linemen’s legs. The ‘backers just felt pretty good up in the line. I just tried to make a play.”
Now, you know the Ravens practiced this play. You know that the intent was to submarine through the line with the hope that Messrs. Ricard, Andrews and Edwards would provide enough of a push to escort Huntley into the end zone. And even if it didn’t work, they would go for it on fourth down. Sometimes you have to question the game awareness of the team’s quarterbacks. If this was an up-and-over the top scenario, the Ravens would have spread the field. They didn’t. Moreover, why would the Ravens ask a 6’1” quarterback to try and leap over for the score? Trevor Lawrence he is not!
Huntley Overall
Heading into the game the Ravens knew that they’d need to protect the football if they planned on pulling off the upset. Five offensive plays into the game, Huntley threw an interception while staring down Andrews, the intended receiver. The Bengals would take the free possession and shortly thereafter a 9-0 lead.
Huntley wasn’t awful. He made a few plays but in the end, he couldn’t make the clutch plays that ultimately determine a game’s outcome. After the game, a reporter asked Harbaugh if
it was cruel that Huntley played such a great game up to the goal-line fumble.
“I wouldn’t use that term.”
Which term, John? “Cruel” or “great”?
Huntley wasn’t great. His was at best, an average night. As for the cruelty? I’m sure fans would define the play as such.
Seeing Red in The Red Zone
The Ravens were once again awful in the red zone. While the Bengals were 2-of-2 in both red zone opportunities and in goal-to-go situations, the Ravens were 1-of-4 and 1-of-3, respectively. And as limited as the Ravens are in terms of skill position players, arguably their best offensive weapon sits on the sidelines (J.K. Dobbins) during most of the team’s chances in the red zone. They opted to roll Huntley out regularly, cutting the field in half and placing even less stress on Cincinnati’s defense.
Coaching
It’s not as if Greg Roman’s struggles as a play caller in the red zone are a new thing. It could be argued that such struggles have benefitted the Ravens in the past. Perhaps you recall the four plays Roman dialed up in goal-to-go situations during Super Bowl 47. As the 49ers OC during the 2012 season, Roman’s troops were steamrolling the Ravens on the ground in New Orleans but opted instead to throw three consecutive fades to Michael Crabtree, each falling incomplete.
We’ve talked about his passing scheme and route concepts – or the lack thereof. We’ve heard about his vault – which apparently is as barren the Moab Dessert. Why can’t he design plays when Dobbins and Edwards are on the field at the same time? Why are they NEVER on the field as the same time? Why do you hand the ball off to Mark Andrews, who is lined up as the RB with no sign of Dobbins or Edwards?
It was as obvious as a Cris Collinsworth–Joe Burrow man-crush that the Bengals were selling out to stop the run. Their only other concern was Andrews. So for once, the Ravens use a little play-action to take advantage of a one-on-one matchup on the outside with Demarcus Robinson and Eli Apple – and they score. Why not EVER go back to it? Eli Apple stinks! Do the Ravens ever…EVER, pick out the weak link of an opponent and exploit it until the other team adjusts or has an answer?
That cute little throwback to Andrews in the middle of the field deep in Bengals territory was a disaster. It looked like some high school play drawn up in the dirt. Another piece of fool’s gold tucked away in that worthless vault?
If Greg Roman is still employed by the #Ravens on Tuesday because Harbaugh is protecting him, then they should both be gone. Not championing John's dismissal, but if he refuses to remove Roman, then he's endorsing the prehistoric offense, the existence of which = failure. https://t.co/cBRmewGOON
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) January 16, 2023
Clock Management
The Ravens clock management on their final possession was in a word, amateurish. It was a reflection on how poorly developed the offense is and how little confidence they have in their quarterback.
With 1:17 left in the game and two timeouts, the Ravens got a new set of downs at the Bengals 28-yard line following a hands to the face penalty against Cam Taylor-Britt who was covering Robinson. The Ravens huddled up and proceeded to allowed nearly 40 seconds to burn before their next play, an 11-yard pass to Dobbins.
Those wasted seconds were gold. More time on the clock opens the playbook. But even if you want to hold onto the timeouts, why huddle? Why not get to the line of scrimmage and run no-huddle? That’s what big league teams do. The Ravens practice these situations all the time. We watch other teams around the league get to the line, even with inexperienced quarterbacks, and execute a no-huddle. When you are a playoff participant, this kind of game management is expected AND demanded.
Well, maybe not by John Harbaugh.
“The idea there was to save the timeouts for the red zone. I think the thing that killed us was the holding penalty, which knocked us back. The idea was, ‘We’ve got time.’ We want to keep those timeouts to throw the ball. So, we tried to pop a run there; we’re going to call a timeout after that. Then, we still have run-pass options. So, we didn’t want to give the ball – we wanted to score without giving the ball back.”
The Ravens struggles in the red zone are so pronounced, so obvious and at this point, practically legendary. Every second is precious, and so what if the Ravens scored and left less than a minute on the clock for Joe Burrow. To score was of paramount importance and besides, the Ravens’ defense was balling out. Instead the Ravens got cute in the red zone, a part of the field in which they are about as skilled as a surgeon with a plastic butter knife.
His Absence Speaks Volumes
For the moment, Lamar Jackson is a distraction. People can interpret his absence in Cincinnati in any number of ways. Some want to paint Lamar as a villain, that he dissed his teammates and opted not to provide Huntley and/or Anthony Brown with some sage veteran sideline advice in between possessions.
Or…
Maybe the Ravens asked Lamar to stay in Baltimore or in Florida or wherever he decided to watch the game. I found it very interesting that the Ravens Media Center scrubbed Huntley’s response to a question about Lamar’s absence.
“I wish he would have been able to come to the game.”
Tyler Huntley was asked after the game last night about his communication with Lamar and not having him on the sidelines. Note that the question and his response we’re both scrubbed from the Ravens media website. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/FTXwXzaCJ8
— Tony Lombardi (@RSRLombardi) January 16, 2023
Huntley’s response is open to interpretation, particularly since he’s been on the Ravens sideline in previous games. Not including this portion of the dialogue in the Ravens media center can’t be a coincidence.
Can it?
Much more on Lamar during the days, weeks and months ahead.
20 Responses
Yeah the fact that he did not travel this time when it was presumably worse last time he did – does speak volumes.
like I said – this is on the decosta camp to not close this before the season started and we only have the browns to thank for that. stick a fork in it. He is done. Too bad and the ravens org shared responsibility. I only hope Steve B is able to enforce Romans removal. The other thing why John Harbaugh may not want want an up and coming coach like a Jeff klingsbury in the offensive role is because he will have to constantly look over his shoulder if that person will take over the head coaching job.
I think you mean Kliff Kingsbury, but I get your drift.
Who, in their right mind, calls for a QB sneak from the 2 yard line with two prolific RBs waiting in the wings?! John Harbaugh obviously was in on that play because he was quick to point out that Huntley was supposed to go…..low! Of course, Harbaugh was not under center to see what Huntley saw, but the simple fact is that they should have used their RB! He’s a bad game day coach, always has been and always will be and he and his antiquated offensive system and philosophy need to…..go!
Anybody agree w/ me that Huntley was clearly influenced by Trevor Lawrence’s reach-over two the day before? But Cincy had seen it too!
Huntley forgot he isn’t 6′ 7″….dumb move on everyone’s account.
At least it’s finally over. I’m too exhausted to even assign blame any more.
“Well drilled” is a trait I’d like to see going forward. You don’t need 1000 plays, just 100 that you do really well. Maybe the next OC can do it.
SMH I just can’t comprehend how a HC and coaching staff can continuously make so many gaffes. I understand a few times but somewhere along the line you have to fix it. You are handed some of the best athletes in the league and you misuse their skill sets. Who’s to blame. What blows my mind is that we all see it and it is never fixed.
Are these shortcomings intentional and premeditated? I can’t believe any good coach would continuously do these things and not fix them. If it is neither then what is the reason for not fixing the mistakes. In most businesses if you kept making the same mistakes you would be gone? Is this the exception? Just SMH in amazement.
Harbaugh threw Huntley under the bus for not going low but says nothing about the call dialed up by Roman? National media going nuts over Lamar not traveling with the team. Dobbins publically wondering why he didn’t get more touches especially in the red zone. Mike Vick doubting Lamar. Chad Steel in defense mode. One and done. Sounds like everthings pretty normal on Winning Drive.
If Lamar really said, “When you have something good, you don’t play with it. You don’t take chances losing it. You don’t neglect it. When you have something good, you pour into it. You appreciate it. Because when you take care of something good, that good thing takes care of you too”, maybe homeboy has forgotten how he got here.
Maybe he has forgotten that the Ravens traded up to get him or he most likely would not have gone in the first round at all.
Maybe he has forgotten who was the only organization that thought he could play QB in the NFL and committed to it.
Maybe he thinks there are other teams that will build an entire scheme and a roster tailored to maximize his success.
Maybe it’s Lamar who is not grateful for the level of support he has received and is playing with breaking ‘something good’.
Maybe someone who has only played 12 games out of 17 for two seasons in a row should just take the biggest paycheck for a QB [$250M] and not hold out for a 100% guarantee – which is something no organization that isn’t run by a moron would ever consider offering.
well said. let him go. get jimmy G
once again tony crafting a masterful piece. the fact that harbaugh said the sneak was the right call tells you that he is not an offensive minded coach. how could he not have a problem with JK and GUS not being given opportunities in the red zone.
i am so tired of harbaugh
he’s one of the greatest mediocre coaches ever
the act is old
trade lamar, fire harbaugh and roman
just blow it up
i can’t watch anymore
Perspective:
Well, we thought the game was saying Goodbye after the first quarter, but then we all had our hopes up for a really long while (till the great turnaround). Then a tease at a tie and then the usual finale. I hate the feeling, but feeling bad is great compared to not feeling.
I do recall and admit to being maybe as old as a few that post here, that awful time in my life when the Colts left and various groups of investors/politicians/local bigwigs (Boogey Wineglass et.al, Gov. Schaeffer, etc.) tried to get Bill Bidwell (St. Louis Cards) and a few others to let Baltimore have a team. They begged and begged and it was mortifying. It was sports terrible. I was a “man without a country” ( bad metaphor these days, I guess). I enviously watched Redskins fans revel in John Riggins and others but had no team of my own. Could just back the Cowgirls or Packers or others but I couldn’t. Loved the Stallions, but it was just Nfl withdrawal. Then the Ravens happened and it did take me a year to buy in but since then I drink the purple Cool Aid. So never forget what you might not have.
That said, I have to give Armchair the RSR award of excellent prescient analysis for the year as his posts were telling us this is a Harbaugh-centric problem, for many weeks. Time to change in a big way(coaching) and in my opinion, not with LJ.
Totally agree. I remember the old days but this is a new era. Bisciotti-the billionaire owner, apparently has faith in Harbaugh. He’s been here 15 years and just received a 3 year extension so Bisciotti must believe he a good HC. IMO he’s been living off the early years.
It’s a dire situation with the final decisions to be made by Bisciotti. The Ravens should be here for years to come. The question is in what state will they be in the near future. Bad decisions could cause a setback and a disgruntled fan base. We’ll find out soon enough.
This staff has shown time and time again now that they only know how to out-coach themselves. They overthink every single aspect of the game and in doing so forget the easy solutions. Remember Lamar’s MVP season? Whenever we found ourselves in a 3rd-and-short situation, hand it off to Gus, he knows what to do. Why not do that again? Why overthink things so much that you decide to use Andrews for that exact role. That one play summed up the entire season. We no longer take the easy option, we carefully craft the most unnecessary, complicated play and fool no one with it.
Good commentary here. Lamar and the Ravens are done. It seems that Lamar overvalues himself as a QB, and without an agent to introduce some reality to him, his insistence on a top of the market deal (which his recent tweet seems to confirm) torpedoed his chances.
The team rightfully decided to let Lamar prove that he was worth Watson money, and he failed to do so. One can blame Roman and Harbaugh, or bad luck for a second consecutive season-ending injury. But Lamar shot himself in the foot by skipping OTAs, poor accuracy, a very stupid tweet to a fan, failing to show up in Cincinnati with his team, and then this final stupid tweet.
It’s time for both parties to move on. I hope that Lamar matures and I wish him well, but it’s over.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1381342178/lamar-jackson-anagram?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=LAMAR+JACKSON+ANAGRAM&ref=sr_gallery-1-3&edd=1&organic_search_click=1
Lamar better be gone or the Ravens will lose a lot of fans including me. Correction Lamar and Gro should be gone.