BALTIMORE — It’s not often that another team’s kicker outperforms Justin Tucker, but Indianapolis Colts kicker Matt Gay did just that. Gay made four field goals of 50-plus yards, including a 53-yarder with 1:09 left in overtime, to send the Ravens to a 22-19 loss at soggy M&T Bank Stadium on Sept. 24.
Coming off an emotional Week 2 win at Cincinnati, the Ravens (2-1) scuffled through an error-prone afternoon but still had multiple chances to put the game away late. Tucker’s 61-yard field goal try with six seconds left in regulation came up short.
Then in overtime, the Ravens’ offense misfired on both of its possessions.
Lamar Jackson threw behind an open Zay Flowers on a third-down slant, forcing a punt. On the Ravens’ other overtime possession, tight end Isaiah Likely dropped a low throw from Jackson on third down. Then on fourth down from the Colts’ 47, head coach John Harbaugh opted against a 64-yard field-goal try or a punt. Instead, Jackson threw incomplete on a short pass over the middle to Flowers, though the Ravens and fans screamed for a pass interference call that never came.
The Colts took over and moved the ball 18 yards in five plays, setting up Gay’s game winner. Gay became the first player in NFL history with four 50-plus field goals in the same game.
The Ravens had jumped to a 7-0 lead on their opening possession when Jackson scooted and deked his way around right end for an 8-yard touchdown. They appeared ready to roll when Jackson threw a pass to running back Kenyan Drake on their next possession and he rumbled downfield. But at the end of the 24-yard run, Drake was stripped and the Colts recovered.
In their next six full possessions — not counting a one-play drive just before halftime — the Ravens fumbled four times and totaled two first downs.
Gay’s first field goal of the game gave the Colts a 10-7 lead at halftime, and he extended the lead to 13-7 in the third quarter before Jackson’s second touchdown run of the game, on a 10-yard quarterback draw, put the Ravens back ahead at 14-13.
Gay and Tucker later exchanged 50-plus-yard field goals, and when Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew stepped out of the back of the end zone for a safety, the Ravens had a 19-16 lead with 2:03 left. But Gay tied the game on a 53-yard kick with 57 seconds left, and Tucker’s potential game-winner in the final seconds landed about a yard short.
The Colts played without rookie starting quarterback Anthony Richardson, who is in the concussion protocol. Minshew finished 27-for-44 for 227 yards and one touchdown.
Here are five impressions of the loss, which drops the Ravens to 2-1 with two big AFC North games up next:
1. The Ravens’ passing game has to be better, and it starts with ball security.
After looking much improved in a Week 2 win at Cincinnati, the Ravens’ offense took a step backward in this game, with mistakes and problems. Granted, some of that should be credited to a Colts defensive front that won at the point of attack all afternoon. Head coach John Harbaugh said the Colts had a formidable front seven and they proved it wasn’t just coachspeak.
The Colts blew up the pocket and forced Lamar Jackson out of rhythm. And the Ravens were missing Odell Beckham Jr., who sat out with an ankle injury. But some of the Ravens’ errors were self-inflicted.
Kenyan Drake had the ball punched out from him at the end of a long run, and Lamar Jackson fumbled twice, losing one. Another fumble was the result of a poor snap by Sam Mustipher. Jackson fell on that one, but it scuttled a drive.
Jackson’s downfield passing game was nonexistent. His only pass to a wide receiver that covered more than 10 yards went to Nelson Agholor — for 18 yards on the second-to-last play of regulation. Zay Flowers’ longest catch netted for 8 yards, and Rashod Bateman had one catch for 6.
Jackson completed his first seven passes, including five on the opening touchdown drive, but nothing came as easy the rest of the game. He finished 22 for 31 for 202 yards, and he was sacked four times. One of those forced a turnover, and another disrupted the Ravens’ final drive of regulation. But a couple of near misses also stand out.
In overtime, Jackson threw behind Flowers on a third-down quick slant that could have extended a drive. Then on the Ravens’ final possession, Isaiah Likely couldn’t cradle a low throw on third down, and Jackson threw incomplete to Flowers on fourth down, though the Ravens screamed that linebacker E.J. Speed should have been called for pass interference.
Asked about that play, Jackson clearly didn’t want to criticize officiating, saying only, “We had plenty of opportunities in the game to finish strong, but it is what it is. Live to fight another day.”
The Ravens’ passing game, the subject of so much talk and promise all summer, was as dreary as the weather at times, and it started with the poor ball security.
“You have to protect the football,” Harbaugh said. “That’s it. … If we’re going to be a winning football team … we have to hold on to the football. Our guys know that.”
The Ravens’ best offense this game proved to be Jackson’s running. He finished with 14 carries for 101 yards and both Ravens touchdowns. In overtime, though, he didn’t carry at all. Granted, the pass plays were there on those two Ravens possessions, they just weren’t made.
2. The Ravens just couldn’t close the deal, and there’s plenty of blame to go around.
In their win against Cincinnati last week, the Ravens ate the final three-plus minutes of game time, recording a pair of first downs with a three-point lead to salt away the time and the win. This time, the Ravens again had a three-point lead with just over two minutes left but couldn’t do the same.
“It’s just about finishing,” tight end Mark Andrews said. “It was right there to be had, and this is the type of game you learn from. You grow from it and get better as a team. We’re not going to take this one lightly.”
Poor execution, poor clock management and poor communication all appeared to be culprits as the Ravens let the Colts work their way back into a tie to force overtime.
Leading 17-16, the Ravens pinned the Colts at their own 2-yard line with 2:14 to play after a 53-yard punt by Jordan Stout. Three plays later, quarterback Gardner Minshew stepped out of the back of the end zone while avoiding pressure. That resulted in a safety, giving the Ravens a 19-16 lead and the ball.
On the ensuing safety free kick, Ravens returner Zay Flowers called for a fair catch, which kept the clock stopped at 2:03. The Ravens then totaled 3 yards on three running plays.
With the two-minute warning, a Colts timeout after second down and a Ravens penalty on third down, the Ravens took just 15 seconds off the clock on that series. Then Stout, who has been terrific all season, lofted a sky-high punt that traveled just 34 yards, setting up the Colts at their 38-yard line.
Minshew completed four straight passes to set up a game-tying, 53-yard field goal with 1:02 left.
If Flowers fielded the free kick and returned it, or even just ran around for a couple of seconds, the two-minute warning would have taken place then, and the Colts would have been forced to burn their final timeout one play earlier. The Ravens could have run at least 30 more seconds off the clock.
Head coach John Harbaugh explained that initially, officials said the safety occurred with 1:59 left, at the two-minute warning. So the Ravens told Flowers to make a fair catch. But after reviewing the play, the crew concluded that Minshew stepped out of the end zone with 2:03 left, so that’s when the free kick took place. Harbaugh said the Ravens failed to communicate any change to Flowers, so he continued with the original plan for a fair catch.
The Ravens still had two of their own timeouts left, and it’s unclear why they didn’t use one to make sure Flowers and the return team were on the right page regarding the timing. But by calling for a fair catch with 2:03 left, the Ravens essentially gave the Colts an extra timeout via the two-minute warning.
Even after Matt Gay’s game-tying 53-yard field goal with 1:09 left, the Ravens had a chance to win the game. But Lamar Jackson was sacked by Kwity Paye after the pocket blew up, pushing the Ravens back 10 yards to their own 39. Three plays later, Tucker’s 61-yard field-goal try for the win landed just short.
3. Kyle Hamilton showed his full arsenal.
When the Ravens drafted safety Kyle Hamilton at No. 14 overall last year, general manager Eric DeCosta said Hamilton’s athleticism, size and speed made him a “top-five” talent in that draft. In this game, the safety played like it.
Hamilton was a one-man wrecking crew in the first half, coming untouched off the edge as a slot defender to sack Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew three times.
With Ar’Darius Washington placed on injured reserve this week, the Ravens turned to Hamilton in the slot, and the Colts seemed totally unprepared for it. Hamilton ran free firing off the edge from the slot and used his size and length to run down Minshew twice, then hammered him for a third sack that caused a fumble late in the half.
“Honestly, that’s probably about as unblocked as you can get,” Hamilton said. “You have to make your layups.”
Hamilton had two sacks as a rookie last year, also blitzing out of the slot, after going three years without ever recording a sack as a college star at Notre Dame.
He became the first Ravens defensive back with three sacks in the first half of a game, and joined Bennie Thompson (1996) as just the second with three sacks in a game.
Hamilton finished with nine tackles, three sacks and two other tackles for loss. He also batted down a pass. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Hamilton is built unlike other NFL safeties, but he showed the multiple ways he can affect the game.
“I call him ‘The Avatar,'” edge rusher Jadaveon Clowney said. “6-4 at safety and can run, can hit. I like playing with him. I think he’s a great player, smart guy. Kyle, he’s going to bring it.”
4. The injuries were noticeable this week.
The Ravens took the field today minus seven projected starters, including wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle), tackle Ronnie Stanley (knee), center Tyler Linderbaum (ankle) and cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who has yet to play this season after undergoing foot surgery in August. Gus Edwards left the game to be evaluated for a concussion, and outside linebacker David Ojabo (ankle) also left the game with an injury.
The Ravens’ offensive line fill-ins, Patrick Mekari at left tackle and Sam Mustipher at center, performed extremely well at Cincinnati last week but had their hands full in this game. Mekari was beaten by Samson Ebukam on a sack that forced a fumble, though Jackson recovered it. Colts defensive tackle Taven Bryan also forced a fumble, and Mustipher sent an ankle-high snap to Jackson that proved to be the team’s third fumble on three second-quarter possessions.
The Ravens also were missing starting outside linebacker Odafe Oweh (ankle), and lost David Ojabo (ankle) during the game, leaving rookie Tavius Robinson and practice squad callup Jeremiah Moon, playing the first regular-season game of his two-year career, on the field for major minutes. Moon finished with five tackles.
No one is going to use injuries as an excuse, especially after the Ravens took their battered team to Cincinnati last week and won. And the Colts were missing their starting quarterback, Anthony Richardson, who is in the concussion protocol.
But the injuries piled up, and while the Ravens will always espouse the “next man up” philosophy, they are the “next men up” because the team has determined that the other guys are better. The Ravens were missing those starters in this game.
5. It won’t get any easier for the banged-up Ravens with AFC North bruisers on deck.
The Ravens now embark on a two-week stretch that could help clarify the AFC North. The Ravens visit Cleveland on Oct. 1 and then Pittsburgh the week after that. With a win at Cincinnati already in the bank, the Ravens have a chance to take a commanding lead in the division with two more road AFC North wins. Even if they split those two games, they could still be in first place in the division with all three road games out of the way.
To be sure, the Ravens will be limping into Cleveland, and the physical nature of AFC North football pretty much assures they will be limping out of Cleveland, too, and then going on to Pittsburgh. That is a tough back-to-back assignment. But they are 1-0 in the division, and while this loss to the Colts stings, the team can quickly salve their wounds the next two weeks.
It’s a week-to-week league, players and coaches like to say, and this week, they will be glad for it. This one is over, and to paraphrase Bill Belichick, they are on to Cleveland.
“We could have been 3-0, and we’re not,” linebacker Patrick Queen said. “So there’s nothing we can do about it now. We’ve just got to capitalize next time. [Can’t] let this one [loss] turn into two.”
This story has been updated since its original publication.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox