OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Ravens head coach John Harbaugh lamented both the play call and the execution on the Ravens’ critical failed two-point conversion against Pittsburgh on Nov. 17, saying the run by quarterback Lamar Jackson is “one that we’d like to have back just across the board.”
After scuffling on offense most of the day in the big AFC North showdown at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium, the Ravens cut the Steelers’ lead to 18-16 with 1:06 left on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Jackson to wide receiver Zay Flowers.
The Ravens lined up for a two-point conversion, but then the Steelers called timeout. Once the Ravens snapped the ball, Jackson kept on a run left, but the Steelers were wise to it. Jackson ultimately threw a desperation pass that fell incomplete, though after the game he said the play was a designed run.
The Ravens (7-4) opted against an onside kick after the failed conversion, hoping to get the ball back with time left. But the Steelers were able to gain a first down on their next series and run out the clock for the 18-16 win. The Steelers (8-2) extended their AFC North lead and won for the eighth time in the past nine games in the rivalry.
Some are questioning why the Ravens didn’t have running back Derrick Henry on the field for the play; Justice Hill was the lone back on the field, to Jackson’s right.
“Derrick Henry is a great football player,” Harbaugh said, “and you want him out there situationally, but he’s not out there for every play. … That’s the personnel group that was set up in through a lot of game-planning.
“We all try to put the best plan we can together and come up with the best plays, and when it doesn’t work out, it hurts,” he continued. “It’s bad. … But every player is not on the field for every play. I would like to have had a better play there, and I would have liked to have a successful play.”
On the play, wide receiver Nelson Agholor and tight end Isaiah Likely, just off the left side of the line, appeared to have some confusion about who should be lined up where. Jackson took the snap, and Agholor got driven back into Jackson’s path by Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig. That traffic prevented left guard Patrick Mekari and center Tyler Linderbaum from pulling as lead blockers, and Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. had a clear shot at Jackson. As Porter wrestled Jackson to the ground, Jackson made the desperation throw incomplete.
“I think any time you have a play that didn’t work, you kind of look at it very critically,” Harbaugh said. “We’re disappointed in that play. You want to have a better play up there — a better play call, a better-executed play, everything along those lines. … When it’s an opportunity to tie the game at the end after a hard-fought game like that, you have to look at those plays really hard. That’s one that we’d like to have back just across the board.”
NOTEBOOK
NO UPDATE ON ROQUAN SMITH: Harbaugh had no injury update on Pro Bowl linebacker Roquan Smith, who left the Steelers game with a hamstring injury. “We’re just monitoring it as we go here,” Harbaugh said.
Smith played 55 of the Ravens’ 78 defensive snaps before leaving in the second half and finished with a team-high 13 tackles. For the season, Smith leads the team with 110 tackles and has one interception.
The Ravens return to practice Wednesday, Nov. 20, and play at the Los Angeles Chargers on “Monday Night Football” on Nov. 25.
MARCUS WILLIAMS LIKELY TO STAY ON THE BENCH: The Ravens shook up their safety corps against the Steelers, starting Ar’Darius Washington and Kyle Hamilton while leaving Marcus Williams on the bench and Eddie Jackson back in Baltimore.
Washington played every defensive snap, and Hamilton battled through a couple of different injuries to play all but one. A day later, Harbaugh praised their play and said that lineup is likely to continue.
“We were trying to attack some issues that we had in the back end, as everybody knows,” Harbaugh said, “and I thought they played well back there. Those guys did a good job. Ar’Darius has earned that opportunity. … They played well. That would definitely be a formula going forward.”
Williams, who was benched at Cleveland last month, played one snap in place of Hamilton at Pittsburgh. But the veteran, who has the third-highest cap figure on the team at roughly $18 million, has clearly been demoted to a backup role as the Ravens search for answers for the league’s No. 32-ranked pass defense. He has 33 tackles and two passes defensed in nine starts.
Jackson, meanwhile, did not make the trip to Pittsburgh. The team announced before the game that Jackson would not travel with the team for unspecified reasons that were not injury-related. Jackson has started four games for the Ravens and has recorded 30 tackles and one pass defensed.
Harbaugh did not offer any explanation for Jackson’s absence, saying, “I really don’t have anything to say about those personnel decisions that get made, or why they get made.”
NO COMPETITION IMMINENT FOR STRUGGLING TUCKER: Harbaugh said the team is not considering bringing in any candidates to compete with struggling Justin Tucker for the kicker job, and he continued to express confidence in the five-time first-team All-Pro who is enduring the worst season of his career.
Tucker missed field-goal attempts of 47 and 50 yards in the first half against Pittsburgh. Tucker later made a 54-yard kick, but those misses looked especially significant in a game the Ravens lost by two points.
For the season, Tucker is 16-for-22 on field-goal attempts, and his success percentage of .727 is by far the worst of his career. With his two misses, Tucker’s career accuracy percentage slipped to .8934, and he has lost the title of most accurate kicker of all time (min. 100 attempts). For now, that honor goes to Eddy Pineiro (.8938).
Asked about the possibility of free-agent candidates coming in to compete for the job, Harbaugh said, “There’s no thought to that. You have to find that competition first, if you’re going to be blunt about it. Where is that competition? That would be one thing. The best option right now is to get Justin back on point, because he’s fully capable of doing it.”
“He’s definitely our best option,” Harbaugh added, “and he’s going to make a lot of kicks — I really believe that — going forward. But it’s up to him. It’s up to him and the guys he works with every day to make those balls go straight. … We just have to compete to get better and make those kicks.”
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