There’s plenty of blame to go around after the Baltimore Ravens blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter in a shocking loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. While Baltimore’s defense and Derrick Henry deserve some of it, there was one culprit that played a much bigger role than expected in the Ravens’ downfall.
If not for an ill-timed cramp, the Ravens might have gone for it on a crucial 4th and 3 with just 1:33 remaining in the contest. Instead, the Ravens opted to punt the ball back to Josh Allen, who charged down the field to set up Matt Prater for the game-winning field goal, giving the Bills the 41-40 win.
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It was a curious decision at the time. Knowing that Allen is capable of ripping any defense to shreds in seconds, why would the Ravens — who employ both Lamar Jackson and Henry — decide to play it cautious in the game’s biggest moment?
Turns out, Jackson was cramping. After the contest, he said that was the reason he didn’t try to convince head coach John Harbaugh to go for it on fourth down.
“I was cramping, so that’s why I pretty much jogged off the field,” Jackson said. “If I wasn’t, I believe everyone in here know I would have been trying to go for it [on] 4th and 3.”
It was a disappointing explanation for why the Ravens played it safe on the most important play of the game. While a 4th and 3 is far from an automatic conversion in the NFL, even the analytics believed going for it was the right call.
Following the loss, the Ravens need to find a way to regroup following yet another back-breaking defeat at the hands of the Bills.
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While Baltimore shouldn’t dwell too much on losing to another excellent team, it should carry forward one important lesson from the collapse. The next time the Ravens are facing a crucial short-yardage fourth down with the game on the line, they need to go for it, even if their best player is cramping.
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