Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh stole defeat from the jaws of victory on Sunday night.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Ravens offense looked red-hot and held a commanding 34-19 lead on Sunday Night Football over the Buffalo Bills.
What followed was a horrific collapse where the Ravens horrifically mismanaged their way out of the game and allowed Bills emergency kicker Matt Prater to hit a walk-off field goal to win 41-40 in Orchard Park.
An exhausted Ravens defense gave up 22 points in the fourth quarter as Bills quarterback Josh Allen ran wild and fast to pull out the win.
But the most confounding moments came on the final two drives of the game. After Buffalo failed to even the game on a two-point conversion, the Ravens took over from their own 31-yard line.
After a 1-yard rush from Derrick Henry (whose fumble the drive before led to the final Buffalo touchdown of the night) and a no-gain rush from receiver Zay Flowers, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson hit receiver DeAndre Hopkins for a six yard gain.
Facing a 4th & 3 from their own 32-yard-line – and with Buffalo having just used their last timeout – Harbaugh elected to punt the ball away.
Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh was slammed for his mismanagement on Sunday Night Football which directly led to his team blowing a 22-point lead to lose to the Buffalo Bills
Harbaugh decided to punt the ball in their final drive, rather than give either QB Lamar Jackson (L) or running back Derrick Henry (R) the chance to gain three yards to ice the game away
Rather than trust either Henry (169 rushing yards) or Jackson (70 rushing yards) to simply pound out the three yards needed to end the game on their terms, Harbaugh and the Ravens gave the ball back to Allen with 1:26 remaining in the game.
Within five plays, Allen led the Bills into field goal range. Buffalo could have scored a touchdown, were it not for Baltimore safety Jaire Alexander tripping up Bills wideout Keon Coleman at the Ravens nine-yard-line.
After three kneel-downs, the Bills sent out the kicking team as time counted down and Prater knocked through the 32-yard-kick to win the game.
According to Josh Dubow of the Associated Press, this marks the eighth double-digit fourth-quarter lead that Harbaugh has blown in the last ten seasons (the most in the league).
Almost instantly, irate sports fans began blasting Harbaugh for blowing the game.
‘That is without question… the worst loss during the John Harbaugh era in Baltimore. 40-25 with 4 minutes left, Ravens had a 99.9% chance to win the game, and the Bills come back to win 41-40. This dude knows how to lose games,’ wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter.
Another post read, ‘Hall of Fame QB? Hall of Fame RB? Top 3 offense in the league? Top 3 Safety? Top 3 linebacker? “Top 3” defense in the league? All pro’s and pro bowlers on all sides of the ball? 40 POINTS SCORED? Yet came away with nothing? Nothing will change until John Harbaugh is gone.’
Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Kurt Benkert posted, ‘John Harbaugh has the most blown double digit 4th quarter leads of any coach dating back to before the 90’s.’
That punt gave Bills quarterback Josh Allen plenty time to march down the field to set up a game winning field goal, denying the Ravens’ revenge for last year’s AFC playoff loss
‘Never said this before but put John Harbaugh on the clock,’ wrote sportswriter Jason La Canfora. ‘Something has to change. This shit been going on too long. It should be Super Bowl or bust for him.’
One NFL fan remarked, ‘John Harbaugh a bozo man, u have Lamar Jackson, why are you punting with just 3 yards needed.’
‘Lamar is never winning a ring as long as John Harbaugh is his head coach,’ said another.
In the fourth quarter alone, Allen shone – completing 16 passes for 251 yards in just the final 15 minutes of game time, throwing one touchdown pass and rushing for two of his own.
All told, the Ravens defense gave up 497 yards of total offense – with 269 of those yards coming in the final quarter.
According to the NFL, the Ravens became the first team in NFL history to score at least 40 points and rush for at least 235 yards – yet still lose. It broke a record of 277-0 for teams in that situation previously.
It extended the pain the Bills inflicted on Baltimore back in January, when they knocked off the Ravens in the AFC Divisional round.
Baltimore will now try to win its first game of the season at home against the division rival Cleveland Browns. The Bills, in turn, will travel to the Meadowlands to play the New York Jets.
