Allow me to introduce myself, I am scorned Baltimore Ravens fan. That’s all you need to know at this point. First, let me make one thing clear, this is not all doom and gloom but it also isn’t all, “Ra Ra, it was still a great year,” drinking the kool-aid crap. This was our year. We were already making plans for Miami. The Vegas money was coming in. They were the 14-2 Baltimore Ravens, with the most vicious rushing attack in NFL history. With the league MVP at quarterback. And then they weren’t.
A number one seed had not lost in the divisional round since 2010 so the odds were in the Ravens’ favor. In 2018, they shut out the Titans 21-0, holding Derrick Henry to 21 yards on 7 carries, so, again, the odds were in the Ravens’ favor.
But these Tennessee Titans were scary. They knocked off the New England Patriots in Foxborough, and King Henry looked like an unstoppable monster. To be honest with you, the Titans were the only team that made me a little uncomfortable. I wasn’t scared and apparently neither were they. I listened to some analysts predict the upset.
In-fact I got into a Twitter war with former Patriot Rob Ninkovich who had so callously predicted the demise of the best team in the NFL. (Note: I have since admitted defeat and now follow and respect the opinion of @ninko50.)
What were you saying?
— Rob Ninkovich (@ninko50) January 12, 2020
I’m not one who usually deals with hypotheticals but had the Patriots taken care of business in the Wild-Card round, the Texans would have come to Baltimore and I would be on my way to my to watch my team trounce the Chiefs and clinch a berth in the Super Bowl.
Let’s Examine the Obvious
Lamar Jackson did not play like Lamar Jackson in 2019. He played like Lamar Jackson in last year’s devastating home playoff loss to the Chargers. That being said he was still stellar, putting up gaudy numbers. But he alone could not overcome the two-touchdown lead that the Titans were able to lay on them early.
Hollywood Brown was awesome. 7 catches for 126 yards. Enough said. When he is fully healthy the league will be put on notice. The rest of the Baltimore Ravens’ receiving corps combined for 6 drops and were not there when our MVP needed them the most. Greg Roman abandoned the run game early. Apparently 14 points are enough to put the Ravens top-ranked rushing attack on the bench. Yes, Mark Ingram was banged up but Gus Edwards was not. Or maybe Roman was so confident in getting the Browns job that he wanted to show what he could do with Baker Mayfield. Either way, he called 59 pass plays.
Baltimore Ravens’ Identity Crisis
That is not the identity of the AFC North Champions. All season long the Ravens were the team that went for it for on 4th down and converted. They were perfect in 2019 on 4th and 1. Against the Titans, they were 0-4 on fourth down, including 0-2 on 4th and 1 with two turnovers. John Harbaugh has been a God-send for the Ravens after an uninspiring end to the Brian Billick era however he failed to use the second-best weapon on his team and take the points using Justin Tucker‘s leg.
There are those out there that point to the long lay off making the Ravens rusty. Harbaugh sat Jackson and a few others in their week 17 win against the Steelers and then let them take most of the bye week to rest and get healthy. There were rumblings of lackluster practices during that time. The Ravens became too confident. The Ravens became too enamored with having 12 Pro Bowl players. The Ravens played too much like a team that had already crowned itself Super Bowl champions.
In the other AFC Divisional game, the Texans put up 21 points in the first quarter against the Chiefs. All the Chiefs did was come back and drop a 50 spot on them and now will host the AFC title game. That’s what great teams do. The Texans scored 14 early and the Baltimore Ravens put their tail between their legs and got an early start on the off-season. That’s what good teams who take their opponent for granted do.
Looking Ahead
The future does look bright in Baltimore. Eric DeCosta has done an incredible job setting this team up for a dynasty run. Their star quarterback is on his rookie deal allowing flexibility to beef up the roster in other areas. Most of their offensive pieces will be back for the 2020 season and I imagine they will bring back their star pass rusher Matt Judon after already committing to cornerback Marcus Peters.
I do believe that Lamar Jackson will make good on his promise to bring a Super Bowl championship to Baltimore, it just won’t be this year. This loss will continue to haunt the city and the franchise until week one of the 2020 season, more than likely until they win a playoff game. It will continue to sting. This one will live on in infamy in all of its inglorious glory.
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