The Baltimore Ravens rolled into Highmark Stadium to face the Buffalo Bills and laid a brutal beatdown on Sean McDermott's team...until the last four minutes of the game.
Having hung 40 points on the Bills' defense as Derrick Henry (169 yards) and Lamar Jackson (70 yards) gashed them on the ground, it looked like the Ravens were headed for a statement win against their AFC rivals.
But a Henry fumble late in the fourth quarter gave the Bills life, and Josh Allen scored a touchdown on the next drive. The Ravens then had a chance to kill the game. Faced with a fourth-and-three, Baltimore decided to give the ball back to the Bills, and Allen led a drive that would end up seeing Matt Prater kick the game-winning field goal.
While football is the ultimate team game, Henry puts the loss entirely on his shoulders.
“First of all, I got to take care of the ball,” Henry said. “Told my teammates at the game, but it's also me. I own it like a man. We emphasize taking care of the ball. That's a big emphasis, especially in our room at running back, taking care of the football, keeping it high and tight and not lackadaisical, and they made a play. But yeah, I put this loss on me. If I take care of the ball feel like it be a different situation.”
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Ravens masters of own downfall
While many point to Henry's fumble as the reason the Ravens lost, for me, it was what happened, or should I say, did not happen on Baltimore's next drive that was the killer.
We have seen teams play Patrick Mahomes differently, opting for a "we're not giving the ball back to him" mindset, and against the Bills, it was Allen who was on fire.
So that brings me to the fourth-and-three at Baltimore's 38-yard line.
The offense, up until the fumble, had been borderline unstoppable, so why not put faith in Lamar or Henry to pick up those three yards and end the game?
Instead, John Harbaugh chose to give the ball back to Allen for a chance to win the game.
Baltimore got scared and paid the ultimate price.
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