BALTIMORE — Lamar Jackson winced repeatedly as he dressed and then leaned against a locker to talk to reporters, his body feeling about as bruised and battered as his underachieving team’s playoff hopes.
The Ravens, a trendy Super Bowl favorite five months ago, find themselves on the brink of playoff elimination after the team blew yet another fourth-quarter lead and lost, 28-24, to the New England Patriots at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 21.
Jackson wasn’t around to see the end of the Ravens’ latest fourth-quarter collapse — which became complete when Zay Flowers fumbled after making a catch with 1:48 left.
Jackson had left the game late in the second quarter after he took a knee to the back at the end of a 3-yard run. Head coach John Harbaugh said after the game that Jackson was dealing with a “bruise,” and neither he nor Jackson were ready to speculate about Jackson’s availability for the Ravens’ game at Green Bay on Dec. 27.
With the loss, the Ravens (7-8) fall two games behind the Pittsburgh Steelers (9-6) in the AFC North with two to play.
Even with Jackson out, though, the Ravens took a 24-13 lead in the fourth quarter on Derrick Henry’s second touchdown run of the game with 12:50 left.
But the Patriots (12-3) answered with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye to Kyle Williams, and Maye’s successful two-point conversion pass trimmed the Ravens lead to 24-21 with 9:01 left.
The Ravens’ next drive went nowhere — and Henry was nowhere to be seen — and the Patriots took over again at their own 11-yard line with 5:02 left.
Maye proceeded to engineer a nine-play, 89-yard touchdown drive that included a 21-yard pass to Stefon Diggs on fourth-and-2 on a pass just beyond the reach of a diving Ar’Darius Washington. With 2:07 left, Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson raced 21 yards for the go-ahead touchdown as Patriots fans began serenading Maye with “MVP!” chants.
Maye finished 31-for-44 for 380 yards and two touchdowns.
Tyler Huntley played the second half for the Ravens and went 9-for-10 for 65 yards, but the Ravens’ last chance ended when Flowers coughed up a pass as he was hit from behind trying to run after making a catch.
The Ravens had jumped to a 7-0 lead on a precise, dominant opening drive. Jackson hit Flowers for a pair of big gains on the drive, and then Henry found a huge hole off left tackle and raced 21 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Ravens lead less than three minutes into the game.
Jackson completed his first four passes in the game and finished 7-for-10 for 101 yards before leaving with 1:16 left in the half.
The Ravens had all the momentum and appeared on their way to a two-score lead later in the first quarter, as they had driven into New England territory. But then Henry fumbled, the Patriots recovered, and drove 68 yards for a score. Maye’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Henry tied the game at 7 with 11:17 left in the first half.
The game was tied at 10-10 at halftime, and then Flowers gave the Ravens a 17-13 lead in the third quarter with a nifty 18-yard touchdown run. Henry’s second touchdown run of the game increased the Ravens’ lead to 24-13 in the fourth quarter, but if the Ravens of the past few years have shown anything, it’s that no double-digit lead is safe.
Here are five quick impressions of the game, which concludes the home portion of the schedule at 3-6, the most losses ever at home in a single season:
1. The Ravens are a flawed team that has earned its 7-8 record.
By mid-December, NFL teams have played 15 games, and fluke and luck don’t work as explanations. As Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells said, “You are what your record says you are,” and this Ravens team has completely earned its sub-.500 record.
Yes, losing Lamar Jackson to an injury was a factor in this game, and injuries hurt this team through its 1-5 start. But the Ravens had recovered with a five-game winning streak and had a chance to seize control of the division. Instead, they were outplayed in two straight games by divisional foes, losing to both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
Turnovers from top players, a nonexistent pass rush, and a failure to stop opposing drives, especially in key situations, have been consistent hallmarks of this team. Those problems existed in Week 1, and they still exist in Week 16.
The Vegas touts, the Ravens’ front office, and yes, local media and fans, badly overstated the talent of this roster back in August. This stark truth is that this is who they are. They are a flawed team, whose stars have come up small in the biggest spots, and who, on the field, have regressed badly from what they appeared to be on paper.
They are who the record says they are, and that’s why they are on the brink of elimination in a nearly lost season.
2. Derrick Henry being a fourth-quarter spectator is inexcusable.
After New England trimmed the Ravens’ lead to 24-21, the Ravens took over at their own 31-yard line with 9:01 left in the game. Backup Tyler Huntley was in at quarterback. If ever the situation called out for the Ravens to put the game in Derrick Henry’s hands, this was it. Instead, he never saw the field again. The personnel decision was terrible, and the explanation offered was worse.
Keaton Mitchell was in at running back as that series began, and on first down, Huntley dropped back and threw incomplete to Rashod Bateman on the left sideline, a highly questionable play call. The Ravens ultimately salvaged one first down on that drive, with Huntley’s 8-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins, and when they moved the chains, Mitchell remained the running back. He ran for no gain on first down, and three plays later, the Ravens punted.
The Patriots took over at their own 11-yard line and proceeded to drive for the go-ahead score.
When the Ravens got back on the field, pass-protection back Rasheen Ali was in the game. Two plays later, Zay Flowers fumbled and the game was essentially over.
After the game, both John Harbaugh and Henry explained that the Ravens have been using Henry and Mitchell in rotation over the past few weeks, and the rotation called for Mitchell to be on the field at that time.
“It’s part of that rotation,” Harbaugh said. “[Henry] was going back in the game, then we got stopped.”
“I don’t like the drive at all,” Harbaugh added. “Looking back, would I rather have had Derrick starting the drive? Yes. But Derrick was kind of ready for Keaton to start that drive. And then he was planning on coming in next.”
Mitchell has flashed at times this year, and he is a nice change-of-pace back to Henry. But one of the main reasons to sign and pay Derrick Henry — one of the most prolific and durable backs in the history of the league — is to give him the ball late in a must-win game with the lead, especially with the backup quarterback in the game.
And the Patriots had no answer for him all game. Henry ran 18 times for 128 yards, averaging more than 7 yards a carry. (Mitchell ran nine times for 13 yards.)
The idea that Henry “was ready” for Mitchell to start that drive should not be any factor. Henry is the blue-chip, money back, and this was a had-to-have-it drive with the season on the line. Misusing personnel in that situation speaks to a lack of feel for the game, either from Harbaugh, from offensive coordinator Todd Monken, or both.
There’s no explanation that makes sense for Derrick Henry to be a spectator in that spot.
3. Turnovers remain a major problem for the Ravens’ best players.
The Ravens had all the momentum and appeared to be on their way to a two-score lead as they marched down the field with a 7-0 lead. But then Derrick Henry fumbled, the Patriots recovered, and drove for a game-tying score.
Henry called his fumble “really embarrassing,” and said he felt he cost the Ravens seven points because they were driving for a touchdown.
Late in the game, Zay Flowers had a ball punched out from behind as he tried to run after a catch.
“I tried to make a play,” Flowers said. “I cut back, tried to get up field, get a first [down], but somebody behind punched it out.”
The Ravens have lost 12 fumbles this season, among the most in the league, and that gets to the heart of their underachieving offense. That, too, is a problem that dates to Week 1; Henry’s fumble in the fourth quarter of that game in Buffalo helped fuel the Bills’ rally to a 41-40 win. He had three fumbles in the first three weeks, but had not fumbled again until his turnover in this game.
(It’s actually a problem that dates back further, thinking back to critical turnovers from Lamar Jackson and Mark Andrews in the playoff loss at Buffalo last year, or other turnovers by key players in big spots in other big games even before that.)
In the Ravens’ 32-14 loss to Cincinnati, they turned the ball over five times, including four fumbles. Jackson lost two fumbles in that game.
“We all have to protect the football,” Harbaugh said. “That’s a lesson that has to be understood. If you want to play winning football. … It’s been that way for a long time in football. It’s been that way for a long time here. And we have not done a good enough job of that on offense this year.”
4. Ar’Darius Washington’s return offered a brief bright spot.
At this point, it’s hard to find bright spots for the Ravens, but safety Ar’Darius Washington is one of them. The safety worked his tail off to get back on the field after suffering a torn Achilles this spring, and he had an impact in this, just his second game back.
With the Patriots driving for a potential go-ahead score late in the second quarter, Washington came barreling through on a slot blitz and strip-sacked Drake Maye at the Ravens’ 37-yard line. Dre’Mont Jones recovered the loose ball, and the Ravens managed to go into halftime tied at 10.
Then in the second half, Washington came again on a third-down blitz and forced Maye to throw incomplete, forcing a punt situation. The Patriots actually tried a fake punt that was sniffed out by the Ravens, and with a short field, they ultimately drove for Henry’s second touchdown and a 24-13 lead.
Washington did miss on one of the game’s biggest plays, though: With the Patriots facing fourth-and-2 with 3:02 left, Maye tossed pass in the left flat for Stefon Diggs. Washington dove to try to break up the pass, but his 5-foot-8 frame appeared to be about an inch or two short. Diggs caught the pass beyond the dive of Washington and spun upfield for a gain of 21. Two plays later, Rhamondre Stevenson raced 21 yards for the go-ahead score.
Still, for a team that struggled, again, to generate much of a pass rush, and for a player who has spent months trying to just get back on the field and make an impact, Washington did both in this game. He’s a well-liked player who is set to become a free agent after the season, so anything he can do down the stretch could prove to be valuable for him.
On a night that was numbing in the big picture, Washington did offer a glimmer of a bright spot.
5. The Ravens no longer control their own destiny.
For the past few weeks, after so many ups and downs of this tortuous season, the Ravens have steadfastly insisted that they still controlled their own destiny, and as long as they won all their remaining games — a tall order, to be sure, given their track record this season — they would be the division champs.
Well that concept is out the window. Now they have to play well and hope, and for one week at least, they will all be Cleveland Browns fans. It might not matter, though.
If the Ravens lose to Green Bay (9-5-1) at Lambeau Field on Saturday night, the season is essentially over, as the Ravens will be eliminated from playoff contention. One major twist: The Packers also lost their starting quarterback to injury this week, as Jordan Love left their game at Chicago with a concussion.
Lamar Jackson’s status won’t be known until later in the week, but it’s very possible that the Saturday night prime-time matchup will pit backup quarterbacks Tyler Huntley and Malik Willis with the Ravens’ playoff hopes in the balance.
If the Ravens win that game, they have to hope the Browns (3-12) can upset the Steelers in Cleveland the next day. Even if the Ravens win, if the Steelers also win, the Ravens are eliminated from contention. But if the Ravens and the Browns manage to both win, then the Ravens will go to Pittsburgh in Week 18 in a winner-take-all game for the division title.
“I expect our team to keep fighting and try to win two games,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what I expect our team to do. I know they will. I know we’ll come out fighting, because that’s what we’ve done all year. We’ve been in tough circumstances all year. It’s been a grind, for sure.”
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