the Baltimore CrowsThe season is over yet 24-17 wild card loss to Cincinnati Bengals Sunday night.
Like the Miami Dolphin Earlier on Sunday, they wrapped up their season after a baffling clock mismanagement cost them their long-term goals.
The Ravens had a quick situation in the closing minutes of the game as they tried to rebound from a seven-point deficit. However, they freed up valuable downtime on the clock and ended the game with a timeout they couldn’t take with them into next season.
Why didn’t the crows call a timeout?
Facing first-and-10, the Ravens advanced to the Bengals’ 17-yard line on their completion Tyler Huntley to JK Dobbins. The officials blew the play with 1:09 remaining after Bengals defenders held Dobbins out for a first down. The clock continued to run. The Crows had a time limit, but chose not to use one.
Then the Ravens offense huddled and lined up to play a pass. They eventually snapped the ball with 33 seconds left, after allowing 36 seconds to burn the clock. From there, they ran four more plays including a run that resulted in an offensive penalty. A fourth and Hail Mary’s 20 hit a Cincinnati 27 incomplete, and the game was over.
They did not leave with the remaining timeout in the clipboard. They burned one with the clock already stopped after an incomplete pass on third and 20 to set up the final play. That one timeout remained unused as the Crows wasted the better part of the last minute of regulation.
Harbo explained
After the match, Harbou explained the decision to reporters. He said the Ravens wanted to score without leaving any time on the clock for the Bengals and blamed the jail time for thwarting his plan.
“We wanted to save the time-out for the red zone,” Harbou told Touchdown Wire. “The thing that killed us was the penalty.
“We wanted to score without giving the ball back. We think we’ll get to the red zone, we think it’s going to be a certain number of plays, we’ll work until the end of the game. Instead of scoring with 30 or 35 seconds left, you give them a chance to kick a field goal at the end.”
This is an emergency situation that requires a lot of things going quite right in a pressured playoff situation and having a quarterback running the attack. Instead of calling one of the time outs left when the clock is running against you. It’s a classic case of overthinking the situation.
Unsurprisingly, the plan didn’t work out. It is difficult to say whether it affected the outcome of the match after it ended in the failure to play in fourth place. It definitely added undue stress to a situation that the Crows could have been able to control. Add it to the list of Baltimore offseason problems that include spotting What’s going on with lamar jackson.
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