And the sputtering left fans muttering all over Crabtown…
The Ravens (3-3) fell to the one-win Chicago Bears at home because they continually and literally dropped the ball. Bad arm tackling sealed their fate in overtime.
There were five critical drops by Ravens receivers, the most drops by a team in Week 6. Two of them led to game-changing interceptions and 14 points for the Bears. Perhaps even worse, the Ravens’ run defense gave up 231 yards on the ground.
The only times the Ravens reached the end zone against Chicago were on Bobby Rainey’s fortunate kick return score (many thought he was down by contact before he got up and kept running) and on Michael Campanaro‘s game-tying 77-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
You get a couple of big breakout returns like that, you should win, right?
Wrong.
Connor Barth kicked a 40-yard field goal with 2:08 left in overtime, and the Chicago Bears used a 167-yard rushing effort by Jordan Howard to beat the Baltimore Ravens 27-24 on Sunday.
The Bears (2-4) blew a 14-point lead in the second half before coming through in overtime behind Howard, whose 53-yard run put Chicago at the Baltimore 40. After rookie Mitchell Trubisky completed an 18-yard pass to Kendall Wright, Barth delivered the game winner.
Making his first career start on the road, Trubisky directed a conservative game plan that leaned heavily on the run. The first-round draft pick completed 8 of 16 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown.
Howard had 36 carries and the Bears gained 231 yards on 54 attempts.
Baltimore (3-3) trailed 17-3 in the third quarter and 24-16 late in regulation before using two long kick returns to get back in the game.
Chicago used a halfback pass from Tarik Cohen to Zach Miller for a first-half score, and Adrian Amos returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown for a 24-13 lead with 5:08 left.
Baltimore was in position for the go-ahead score when Amos got his first career interception on a pass that bounced off the chest of receiver Chris Moore, who was covered tightly by Kyle Fuller.
Chicago forced three turnovers and frustrated quarterback Joe Flacco throughout the afternoon. Operating without injured receivers Jeremy Maclin(inactive) and Breshad Perriman (second-quarter concussion), Flacco went 24 for 41 for 180 yards with two interceptions.
Trubisky put Chicago ahead 17-3 in the third quarter with an on-the-run, 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dion Sims, who outfought Tony Jefferson for the ball in the end zone.
That put the Ravens in a precarious position, especially with a struggling offense.
Rainey alleviated the pressure by taking the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. Rainey popped to his feet after being tripped by a teammate, broke right and went the distance.
The Ravens were coming off a 30-17 win in Oakland in which they did not commit a turnover, didn’t allow a sack and were penalized only once.
In this one, Baltimore gave the ball away twice, permitted two sacks and was flagged five times — in the first half alone.
TE Maxx Williams hurt his ankle while losing a fumble and did not return. … Perriman received a concussion on a play that Bryce Callahan had Chicago’s first INT of the season.
This Ravens team is now officially an enigma wrapped in a conundrum. It was a crushing loss to a team they were highly favored to beat easily. We should know by now nothing is going to come easy for the Ravens in 2017.
Final/OT:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHI | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 27 |
| BAL | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| Matchup |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 18 | 16 |
| Passing 1st downs | 5 | 9 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 10 | 5 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 3 | 2 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 5-17 | 3-18 |
| 4th down efficiency | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Total Plays | 75 | 70 |
| Total Yards | 342 | 291 |
| Total Drives | 16 | 15 |
| Yards per Play | 4.6 | 4.2 |
| Passing | 111 | 166 |
| Comp-Att | 9-17 | 24-41 |
| Yards per pass | 5.3 | 3.8 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 2 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 4-23 | 3-14 |
| Rushing | 231 | 125 |
| Rushing Attempts | 54 | 26 |
| Yards per rush | 4.3 | 4.8 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 0-1 | 0-2 |
| Penalties | 5-44 | 8-69 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Fumbles lost | 2 | 1 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 2 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 2 | 2 |
| Possession | 36:45 | 31:09 |
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