NFL
By: Joey MacDonald
It’s too familiar for the Baltimore Ravens to keep blowing leads in the 4th quarter, where they were supposed to win these games, but in the end, another choke job by the Baltimore Ravens.
The Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills were in a heavyweight battle between two of the best quarterbacks in football, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, a match between the previous two MVPs of the entire NFL. The game had everything, from the Ravens’ offense playing flawless football throughout the game, to choking away a 15-point lead in the 4th quarter and losing in heartbreaking fashion to their rivals, the Buffalo Bills, 41-40.
The Ravens trio of Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers had monster games at their positions. Lamar Jackson had 279 total yards on offense, including three touchdowns: 2 in the air, and 1 running the ball. Derrick Henry had a good game on the ground, running the ball for 169 yards and two touchdowns, but he made a mistake that turned the game around when he fumbled with less than 3 minutes to go in the game, and the Bills took advantage of it and scored. And, WR Zay Flowers caught seven passes for 143 yards and one touchdown as he continues to be that #1 WR for the Ravens offense and Lamar Jackson. Overall, the offense did its job by scoring 40 points and putting the team in a position to win the game, but in the end, they couldn’t hold the lead.
However, what ultimately killed the Ravens’ momentum against the Bills once again were turnovers and a lack of fundamental football. The Derrick Henry turnover gave the ball back to the Bills, which turned out to be the key moment that the Bills gathered all of the momentum. And the last thing was the Ravens not going for it on 4 and 2 had they gone for it and gotten the 1st down the Ravens would’ve won the game, and now the Ravens will have to figure out what went wrong in the 4th quarter, and to find ways not to blow double-digit leads, especially in the 4th quarter.
On the other hand, the Buffalo Bills never gave up when down by 15 points. With 3:59 left in the game, the Bills had a 0.9 percent chance of winning this ball game while the Ravens had 99.1 percent of winning this game. But the Bills played hurry-up football as they were playing panic football in the last 4 minutes of the game.
But last year’s MVP, Josh Allen, proved to everyone that he was the rightful pick for MVP in 2024 over Lamar Jackson. As he went 33/46 passing for 394 yards and two touchdown passes. And, picked apart the Ravens’ secondary in the last drive to stun the Ravens 41-40.
This loss for the Ravens will sting for a little while, knowing that they let a certain victory slip right through their hands, and now the Ravens will have to remain focused for their next few games as they get ready for a divisional showdown with the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 next Sunday at 1:00 pm. Plus, it’s the first game of the year, there are 16 more games to play, and one game will not define your season; it’s the way you overcome adversity that defines your season for the Baltimore Ravens.
The Baltimore Ravens are a good football team that knows how to win football games, but they can’t blow 15-point leads with less than 4 minutes left in a game. They have, in a lot of people’s opinion, they have the best player in the league in QB Lamar Jackson. And, if they can hold leads in the 4th quarter and play much better on defense by getting to the quarterback and making turnovers, then I believe they can win a Super Bowl.
If the Ravens continue to blow double digit leads like they did against the Buffalo Bills, the Ravens will need to a take hard look at John Harbaugh and asked themselves is his coaching the reason why the Ravens are blowing these leads or is the players not executed the plays when it matters the most, especially on defense.
