Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley appeared to be frustrated with the officiating during his team’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams on January 2, questioning a key delay of game penalty during Baltimore’s second-to-last drive of the game.
The Ravens were facing a 3rd-and-goal from the Rams’ four-yard line when flags came in before Huntley could receive the snap from backup center Trystan Colon, who took the place of an ill Bradley Bozeman in his first missed start in three seasons.
Huntley was seen arguing with the referees when the delay of game was called, and he continued to insist that the Ravens got the play off in time after the game.
“Not going against the ref, I just think they shorthanded us right there,” said Huntley during a press conference following the Ravens’ fifth loss in a row.
“I was looking at the clock, I called for it with one second left, ball came,” he continued before repeating, “I felt like they just shorthanded us right there.”
Huntley finished the tough matchup against a stingy Los Angeles defense with 20 completions on 32 attempts for just 197 yards, along with a second-quarter interception that led to the Rams’ first touchdown. He added 54 yards on nine carries and took five sacks, including two from Von Miller.
Miller all but ended the Ravens’ last-gasp attempt to get into field goal range with his second sack, taking down Huntley with just 19 seconds to play at the Ravens’ 38-yard line.
VON MILLER.
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Odell Beckham Jr. Seals Win
Miller wasn’t the only Rams star player to deliver in a big moment, as Odell Beckham Jr. stepped up late in the fourth quarter to seal the Rams’ 12th win of the 2021 season.
Beckham first converted a do-or-die 4th-and-5 with just over a minute remaining in the game despite excellent coverage from Ravens cornerback Tavon Young.
All hands from @obj on a key fourth down grab on the Rams game winning drive
“I don’t really fault the coverage,” said Ravens head coach John Harbaugh of the play during a postgame press conference, adding that it was “simply a great play” by the Rams.
Young agreed, telling media, “I had good coverage, he made a good catch.”
Beckham followed that play up with a seven-yard touchdown from Matthew Stafford, who recovered from three turnovers to lead the Rams’ fourth-quarter comeback.
Next Gen Stats calculated that Beckham’s two catches increased the Rams’ win probability from 15% to 98.4%, per SB Nation’s Kyle Barber, who added that Beckham was responsible for “a combined jump of 83.4% across two straight offensive plays.”
Harbaugh Praises Huntley
Despite a less productive performance than recent games against the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns, Harbaugh still expressed his approval of Huntley’s showing vs. the Rams.
“He played a poised game,” said Harbaugh, echoing similar praise of the former Utah Ute by teammates and coaches throughout his appearances this season. Huntley has kept Baltimore competitive in several games when Lamar Jackson has been unable to play, though three of those four games have ended in Ravens losses.
Huntley didn’t seem satisfied with his performance, though, telling media, “We had to play out best football, but we played a little bit under that.”
The Ravens especially struggled to finish drives, failing to score touchdowns on two chances from inside the Rams’ 10-yard line.
“Just came up short every time we got down there,” said Huntley of the red zone failures, adding, “We have to stop hurting ourselves. We controlled the game the whole game.”
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Tyler Huntley Says Referees ‘Short-handed’ Ravens Before Key Play