The Baltimore Ravens had a chance in Week 10 to take the AFC North by the reins and never look back. Instead, they suffered a walk-off 33-31 loss to the Cleveland Browns that has fans pulling their hair out.
Head coach John Harbaugh was visibly frustrated in his postgame press conference telling media, “We did not play well enough. We did not play the kind of winning football that we need to play to win a game like that.”
The Ravens appeared like they might run away with this game when safety Kyle Hamilton picked off quarterback Deshaun Watson on the second play of the game and took it to the house for a touchdown.
KYLE HAMILTON WALKED IN THE PICK-6 🔥
📺: #CLEvsBAL on FOX
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The defense was clicking on all cylinders as Watson started 1-of-9 passing and had no answers for the Ravens defense. Yet, the Browns hung around and scored 24 second-half points, including a pick-six of Lamar Jackson.
The Browns were able to march down the field effortlessly — 58 yards in 11 plays — to set up the game-winning 40-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins.
Harbaugh did not point blame at one phase or play, rather his frustration was pointed at “all three phases and the coaching staff.”
The division race is now a lot tighter, as the Pittsburgh Steelers held on to beat the Green Bay Packers. The Ravens still sit atop at 7-3, but the Steelers and Browns are closing in at 6-3 each, with the Bengals dropping to 5-4.
Ravens Lost 2 Key Players in Loss
If the loss to a division rival was not bad enough, the Ravens may have lost one of their best defenders and a starting tackle.
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey went down with a non-contact injury during the game. The star corner was seen holding his left leg as he was going down.
The Ravens are already shallow at the corner position, so they can ill-afford to lose Humphrey for an extended period of time.
An even slower motion replay of Marlon Humphrey’s non-contact injury
Looks like he grabs the back of his lower leg after going down
Starting left tackle Ronnie Stanley also left mid-game with a knee injury. He was initially designated as questionable to return but was unable to return to game action.
Harbaugh gave a very short update on both players saying, “I don’t have any updates right now.”
The game appeared to shift in the second half once both players went out. Both offensively and defensively the Ravens could not get into a rhythm.
Fans will need to wait until late Sunday night or Monday, November 13, to see how long the Ravens may be without two key pieces.
Quick Turnaround for Frustrated Ravens
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who you ask, the Ravens do not have time to stew on what went wrong today. They play the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football on November 16.
The Ravens spoke at length last week about being focused on the Browns, but also that they understood they had two key games in five days.
Harbaugh at the end of his opening remarks told media, “We’ve got to bounce back and play our best football on Thursday night.”
“We’ve got to bounce back and play our best football on Thursday night.”
The leaders of the team, and the coaching staff, will need to make sure that the team does not spiral due to this loss. They need to get everyone on the same page ahead of the Week 11 matchup instead of ruminating on today’s loss.
The Bengals are also coming off a difficult loss, so both teams will be looking to right the ship and get back on track.
Heavy Sports’ projections powered by Quarter4 give the Ravens a 63% chance of victory over the Bengals, with a 4-point expected win margin.
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Ravens Coach John Harbaugh Sends Strong Message to Team After Loss to Browns