Patrick Smith/Getty Images Head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens looks during the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills on October 2, 2022.
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is no stranger to using analytics to guide in-game strategy. But his decision to attempt a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard-line with less than four minutes to go in a tie game — as opposed to trotting out GOAT placekicker Justin Tucker to break a 20-20 tie — was fairly radical, even by his standards.
As it turns out, Harbaugh made a bad choice, as quarterback Lamar Jackson was intercepted by Jordan Poyer and Buffalo went on to drive the length of the field, making it possible for the Bills to kick the game-winning field goal as time expired. Never mind that Ravens wide receiver Devin Duvernay was wide open in the end zone on the aforementioned fourth-and-goal; Jackson couldn’t get the ball to him in time for an easy catch and score.
That said, Harbaugh’s decision — and Buffalo’s subsequent drive — got Ravens All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters so enraged that he was seen throwing his helmet and screaming at his head coach on the sidelines, to the point that he had to be restrained by teammates.
Marcus Peters and Harbaugh got into it.
‘Analytics Are Fine’ (But Consider the Context)
After the game, Harbaugh explained his rationale, but it seems the overwhelming majority of Ravens fans weren’t buying it.
In fact, Harbaugh’s decision spawned several threads on Ravens Reddit, including one titled ‘Marcus Peters Represents All of Us,’ reflective of the anger felt by the fan base about Harbaugh and his coaching staff, among other things.
“Unpopular but it’s time to blow the staff up. There are obvious coaching issues at hand here and it isn’t getting any better. Every year we ‘win the draft’ and have two playoff wins since we won the super bowl to show for it,” read the top comment.
Another fan said “analytics are fine and all but you gotta consider the context of the decision you’re making,” noting that it made more sense to take the three points, in light of the fact that the offense had not scored any points in the second half and “was not executing.”
Another thread referenced a scene from Breaking Bad in which the show’s Walter White character is seen trying to warn his brother-in-law, Hank Schrader, that men are coming to kill him.
The latter thread was more balanced in terms of diversity of opinion, but even there the consensus seemed to be: take the lead and place the burden on Buffalo’s offense to come back to tie (or win) the game.
It’s All ‘Love’ Between John Harbaugh and Marcus Peters?
The loss aside, there’s also the matter of any potential fallout from the sideline confrontation between Harbaugh and Peters.
At his press conference, Harbaugh was asked about Peters being visibly upset with him.
“We’re on the same page. We’ve got a great relationship. We’re got an honest relationship. I love him. I hope he still loves me. We’ll see,” quipped Harbaugh.
Harbaugh also was asked about Marcus Peters being visibly upset — #Ravens HC said he loves Peters, and joked: Hopefully, he still loves me too
Of course, Harbaugh and Peters won’t have much time to dwell on the defeat. Next Sunday the Ravens host the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday Night Football. Kickoff is at 8:20 ET on NBC.