In a matchup of AFC powers like the Bills-Ravens, every play seemingly holds extra significance.
For example, when Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson and Devin Duvernay teamed up for an awesome magic act, it helped the Ravens build a 20-3 lead. And when the Bills would storm back to tie the game at 20 late in the third quarter, the microscope was on the Ravens to close out a win.
Jackson and Co. had an opportunity when, after a 17-play drive (!), they found themselves with a fourth-and-short from the Buffalo two-yard line in the final few minutes. Rather than trust the NFL’s best kicker Justin Tucker to give them a slim three-point lead, head coach John Harbaugh went for the kill against one of football’s best teams with a pass on fourth down.
It did not work out, as Buffalo’s Jordan Poyer snagged a pick off Jackson after a broken play:
Look, the play doesn’t work out, and I understand why football observers would be upset with Harbaugh not taking likely points from Tucker. But after a largely listless first half, Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense were doing whatever they liked to the Ravens’ defense.
As Harbaugh would explain in the post-game, going for it was all about playing to win against an AFC juggernaut nipping at his team’s heels:
Perfectly said. This was a case of Harbaugh trusting his superstar quarterback and his elite offense to put the game away because he (rightfully) didn’t trust his defense and saw seven points as a more comfortable margin. It was only a couple of weeks where the Baltimore defense surrendered four touchdowns in 12 minutes to lose to the Dolphins. A “four-down” game for a bad defense is far worse than trusting Lamar Jackson to get two yards and at least, potentially, have the game in overtime if the Bills were to tie it.
Of course, the Bills and Tyler Bass eventually kicked a short field goal to win it 23-20. But it doesn’t make Harbaugh’s proactive thought process any less correct. Honestly, the real crime was the play call (a straight dropback on fourth and short?).
If more professional coaches operated like Harbaugh — meaning, coaching to win — the quality of NFL football would be a lot better.
