'Ticked Off' Baltimore Ravens Will Regret Sunday's Loss To The Colts
Sometime in December or January, when the Baltimore Ravens are fighting for a playoff spot or perhaps battling for the AFC North crown, this one is going to come up.
This one is going to sting.
And it may very well cost.
The Ravens were upset by the Indianapolis Colts 22-19 on Sunday.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 24: Matt Gay #7 celebrates with Luke Rhodes #46 and Rigoberto Sanchez #8 of the Indianapolis Colts after kicking the game winning field goal in overtime Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Colts Beat Ravens With Lots Of Field Goals
The Ravens lost to an upstart team with a rookie head coach and a roster that was turned over during the offseason. They blew it against a team missing perhaps its two most dynamic offensive players.
The Ravens lost to a team without its starting quarterback. And they lost at home.
Yeah, a mess.
"We had plenty of opportunities to put the game away, especially when our defense did a great job of stopping those guys," Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson told reporters afterward. "Great field position and we didn't move the ball at all. That ticked me off. It ticked all of us off.
"We like to finish the job. The defense did great today. They always do great but especially today and we had an opportunity to finish the game and we didn't."
The Ravens blew a lead three times before losing this game in overtime. That hurts because this franchise prides itself on playing great defense that locks opponents down once they gain an advantage.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 24: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens runs with the ball in the fourth quarter of a game against the Indianapolis Colts at M&T Bank Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Lamar Jackson, Offense Not Great
But, interestingly, it wasn't so much the Baltimore defense that disappointed in this one. That unit gave up only one touchdown.
The Colts depended on five field goals, four from 50 yards or more, to stay close. The Baltimore defense even put up a couple of points on the board with a safety when Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew was sacked out of the end zone.
So the Colts weren't exactly moving up and down the field or finishing drives.
The problem is the Baltimore offense was similarly inept. At one point between the first and third quarters the Ravens got seven possessions on offense. And this is how they went:
Fumble.
Punt.
Fumble.
Punt.
End of half.
Punt.
Punt.
"We have to lock in more, stay focused more," Jackson said. "Took what the defense gave us. Try to move the ball fast as we could but, you know, conservative."
The two fumbles lost were by Jackson and running back Kenyan Drake.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 24: Head coach John Harbaugh reacts during overtime of a game against the Indianapolis Colts at M&T Bank Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
John Harbaugh Hates Ravens Fumbles
And a visibly unhappy John Harbaugh, who saw one of his team's potential scoring drives quashed by a fumble in Indy territory, addressed it after the game.
"You have to protect the football," Harbaugh said. "That's it. If we're going to be a winning football team we have to understand that we can't spot anyone possessions like that. Our guys know that ... That's the number one job of anybody who has the ball in their hands is to protect it."
Harbaugh was understandably eager to move on from this missed opportunity. His team played this game without multiple starters including Odell Beckham Jr., Marlon Humphrey, Marcus Williams and Ronnie Stanley, none of which were mentioned postgame.
But before he took questions Harbaugh talked about the team's next game against the Cleveland Browns.
"It's a division game on the road," Harbaugh noted, "So we'll do anything we can do to be the best football team we can be and play our best football."
It's understandable Harbaugh would like to change the subject. This one was a missed opportunity by a team with big expectations.
Now those expectations have to survive a terrible, terrible loss.