NFL
By: Joey MacDonald
In a game that the Baltimore Ravens needed to win to keep pace with the Pittsburgh Steelers, their chances for the AFC North are about to be knocked out for the 2025 season. As has been the case all season, the Ravens had a lead in the 4th quarter, but couldn’t hold on to it, this time against the New England Patriots, where the Ravens had an 11-point lead, and couldn’t make the stops to hold on, as they lost to the Patriots by the score of 28-24. And now puts the Ravens on the edge of a cliff of both making the postseason and winning the AFC North.
The Baltimore Ravens, through the first three quarters, had command of this game against the Patriots; their offense was clicking and had a lead with at least ten minutes to spare, but they couldn’t hold on to it. Derrick Henry had one of those typical King Henry-type games, where Derrick Henry ran for 128 yards on 18 carries and 2 touchdowns, and then after that Henry didn’t touch the ball or get a carry for the rest of the game, which confusing and terrible decision making because Derrick Henry was carving up the Patriots defense with running of the ball. Another big key with the Ravens was when Quarterback Lamar Jackson went down with a back injury and didn’t return, and they had to finish with backup Tyler Huntley to finish the game. Also, WR Zay Flowers had an up and down game, first the up, he had his 1st rushing touchdown since his rookie year in 2023. But the down for Flowers was in the 4th quarter when he was stripped of the ball by K’Lavon Chaisson. And that turnover didn’t give the Ravens a chance to get the ball at the end.
On the other hand, the Baltimore Ravens defense was playing a very good 1st three quarters, and then everything changed in the 4th quarter when they gave up two touchdowns to lose the game. One thing that was great on the defense was the 4 sacks that the Ravens got on Drake Maye. Where Trenton Simpson, Dre’Mont Jones, Ar’Darius Washington, and Devontez Walker got to Drake Maye. Also, Marlon Humphrey got an interception on Drake Maye in the 1st quarter, his 2nd interception of the season, and with that, Marlon Humphrey got his 9th interception within the last season. But then it all crashed down in the 4th quarter. The defense gave up 14 points on two touchdowns, and that was a gut punch to the Ravens’ defense. The secondary gave up 380 passing yards, and that was the downfall for the Ravens’ defense.
The New England Patriots, coming into this game, were in the thick of things for the #1 seed in the playoffs. QB Drake Maye had another big-time performance against the Ravens, where he completed 31 passes on 44 attempts for 380 passing yards in the air and two touchdowns. WR Stefon Diggs had a big game, catching nine passes for 138 receiving yards. Also, his go-to pass catcher, Hunter Henr,y had another good day where he caught his 6th touchdown pass of the season, continues to be Drake Maye’s safety net for catching passes. The Pats defense made the biggest of the night late in the 4th quarter, where K’Lavon Chaisson stripped Zay Flowers with less than 2 minutes left in the game, and that play was enough for the Patriots to run out the clock and pick up their 12th win of the season, their first 12-win season since 2019, Tom Brady’s last season in New England. And, the Patriots are now in the driver’s seat to not only win the AFC East but potentially get the #1 seed and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
With another tough loss this late in the season, the Baltimore Ravens are hanging on by a thread to make the postseason. The Pittsburgh Steelers won earlier in the day, and now the Ravens’ only chance for the postseason in 2025 is to win their last two games of the season against the Green Bay Packers and their matchup with the Steelers in Week 18. And, if the Ravens don’t make the postseason this year, then John Harbaugh could be looking at the unemployment line, because his coaching decisions have been making the fans frustrated because he is wasting Lamar Jackson’s prime away with his decision making, and if they miss the postseason, then the Ravens will be looking for a new head coach for 2026 and beyond.
