If you’re a Ravens fan you will be excused for needing an IV transfusion of electrolytes after this game—or at the very least, a double-shot of Johnnie Walker Blue.
You had the game in hand, 27-17, with 6 minutes to go and you’re driving deep into the Eagles’ defensive red zone. You need this win to keep pace with the Pittsburgh Steelers who are beating the Cincinnati Bengals at the same moment.
For whatever reason, your OC Marty Mornhinweg sends in a pass play designed to hit over the middle to Steve Smith Sr. QB Joe Flacco runs the play as called. No veto from HC John Harbaugh, no audible change at the LOS from Flacco.
Eagles middle linebacker Jordan Hicks smells out the play based on film study. He intercepts the pass in traffic and returns it 34 yards. Flacco later says he didn’t even see Hicks coming into his field of vision. The result: new life for the Eagles…with all three of their timeouts left in addition to the 2-minute warning break.
Gross.
All you had to do was keep pounding away on the ground. Run the clock. If it came down to a 4th-and-long, you bring in the league’s best FG kicker in Justin Tucker. Easy-peezy…
In the end, the Baltimore Ravens survived a desperate comeback bid by the Philadelphia Eagles, escaping with a 27-26 victory Sunday after stopping a 2-point conversion with 4 seconds left.
On a wet and windy day, the Ravens squeezed out a win that enabled them to maintain control of their playoff fate.
If Baltimore defeats Pittsburgh on Christmas Day and Cincinnati in the regular-season finale, the Ravens will enter the postseason as AFC North champions.
Baltimore (8-6) had a 27-17 lead and a first down at the Philadelphia 11 whenJoe Flacco threw an interception to give the Eagles (5-9) another chance.
“I turned the ball over at the end and that’s the only reason it was really a game,” Flacco said.
Rookie Carson Wentz directed a drive that produced a field goal with 2:22 remaining.
The Eagles got the ball back at their 41 with 1:39 to go. A 24-yard completion to tight end Zach Ertz and a pass interference call against rookie Tavon Young set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Wentz that got Philadelphia within a point.
First-year coach Doug Pederson went for the victory, declining the conversion kick for a 2-point try.
“I wanted to win the football game,” Pederson said.
Wentz threw over the middle to tight Jordan Matthews, who couldn’t get his hands on a ball tipped by linebacker C.J. Mosley.
Flacco went 16 for 30 for 206 yards, but lost a fumble in addition to being picked off once.
Flacco’s second touchdown pass, a 34-yarder to Steve Smith with 9 seconds left, helped Baltimore take a 20-14 halftime lead.
Wentz threw an interception on the third play of the game, and the Ravens cashed in with a 5-yard touchdown catch by Kamar Aiken.
Late in the quarter, Justin Tucker kicked a 53-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead. It was his 10th this season of at least 50 yards, tying the NFL record set by Blair Walsh in 2012.
Minutes later, Flacco lost a fumble on the Baltimore 8, and Mathews capitalized by scoring on a 4-yard run and leaping in for a 2-point conversion.
As for that grotesque turn of events late in the game? “All time worst play call ever. I take responsibility for it. Should have vetoed it right away,” John Harbaugh said, referring to the decision by offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg to have Flacco pass with a 27-17 lead.
It should have never gotten that close for the Ravens, but give the Eagles (5-9) credit for never folding or quitting. Maybe this was the wake-up call Harbaugh needs to get himself more involved in play selection when the chess match enters the end-game stages.
Next up: A battle in Pittsburgh with the Steelers (9-5) for first place in the division on Christmas Day. Baltimore has won the past four games of the series.
Final:
| FOX | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | 3 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 26 |
| BAL | 10 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| Matchup |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 27 | 18 |
| Passing 1st downs | 10 | 12 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 13 | 4 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 4 | 2 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 8-18 | 4-11 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-3 | 0-0 |
| Total Plays | 81 | 57 |
| Total Yards | 328 | 340 |
| Total Drives | 12 | 12 |
| Yards per Play | 4.0 | 6.0 |
| Passing | 159 | 189 |
| Comp-Att | 22-42 | 16-30 |
| Yards per pass | 3.7 | 5.7 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 1-11 | 3-17 |
| Rushing | 169 | 151 |
| Rushing Attempts | 38 | 24 |
| Yards per rush | 4.4 | 6.3 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-5 | 2-3 |
| Penalties | 3-30 | 7-62 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 1 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 1 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 36:38 | 23:22 |
Baltimore Passing| C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | QBR | RTG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Flacco | 16/30 | 206 | 6.9 | 2 | 1 | 3-17 | 52.4 | 83.5 |
| TEAM | 16/30 | 189 | 6.9 | 2 | 1 | 3-17 | — | 83.5 |
Baltimore Rushing| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrance West | 13 | 77 | 5.9 | 0 | 41 |
| Michael Campanaro | 1 | 39 | 39.0 | 0 | 39 |
| Kenneth Dixon | 9 | 36 | 4.0 | 1 | 16 |
| Joe Flacco | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 | -1 |
| TEAM | 24 | 151 | 6.3 | 1 | 41 |
Baltimore Receiving| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Wallace | 2 | 60 | 30.0 | 0 | 54 | 5 |
| Terrance West | 4 | 45 | 11.3 | 0 | 17 | 4 |
| Steve Smith Sr. | 2 | 40 | 20.0 | 1 | 34 | 7 |
| Kamar Aiken | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 1 | 14 | 2 |
| Dennis Pitta | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| Kyle Juszczyk | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 0 | 10 | 4 |
| Darren Waller | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| Michael Campanaro | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kenneth Dixon | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Breshad Perriman | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TEAM | 16 | 206 | 12.9 | 2 | 54 | 29 |
Baltimore Defense| TACKLES | MISC | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | QB HTS | TD | ||
| C.J. Mosley | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Eric Weddle | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Brandon Williams | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Terrell Suggs | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Lardarius Webb | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jerraud Powers | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Albert McClellan | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Elvis Dumervil | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Lawrence Guy | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Tavon Young | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Matt Elam | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Michael Pierce | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Shareece Wright | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Matt Judon | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Zachary Orr | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Marshal Yanda | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Joe Flacco | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Marqueston Huff | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TEAM | 74 | 50 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
Baltimore Interceptions| INT | YDS | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zachary Orr | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| TEAM | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Baltimore Kicking| FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Tucker | 2/2 | 100.0 | 53 | 3/3 | 9 |
| TEAM | 2/2 | 100.0 | 53 | 3/3 | 9 |
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