If you asked a Ravens fan of their team’s record, they will likely tell you that the team should be 4-0.
Pack — led by their acrobatic QB Lamar Jackson — comfortably blew past the two teams it beat during Week 4: the New York Jets and New England Patriots. And it also dominated the other two cases against Miami Dolphinsand last Sunday against Buffalo.
At least in the first half of those games.
In reality, the Ravens are now 2-2. But after a pair of losses in which the team led by double digits at halftime, the Baltimore coach is a man struggling to save himself from the quicksand after several questionable calls.
John Harbaugh has long been a fan of going for it on fourth down, and once again made use of the habit late in the fourth quarter of a 20-20 deadlock with the Bills. His risk led to the worst possible outcome: an interception in the red zone, which Buffalo turned into a game-winning field goal minutes later. Harbaugh, however, stood by his decision to try six after the game.
“I felt like it gave us the best chance to win the game because [with] seven [points]the worst thing that happens is if they go on the field and score — and I think we’ll stop them — but if they go on the field and score a touchdown, the worst thing that can happen is overtime,” he reasoned.
On Monday “Undisputed” the owner Shannon Sharp categorically disagreed with his choice.
“[He] absolutely [should’ve] went for a field goal, criticized Sharpe. – That decision cost them the game, and I want to know how many times you’re going to continue that on fourth down. You did it twice against Miami and it came back to bite you in the ass.
“Let me tell you from a player’s point of view, it’s so overwhelming to have a 14-play, 93-yard drive and it eats up so much time and we don’t have anything to show for it. You throw an INT in the end zone and they start the ball at the 20. You haven’t scored since the second quarter. What you needed at that moment were points, and you didn’t get them. … This is unacceptable. In this situation, you have to take the points and let the chips fall where they may. … His defense is saying, ‘Hell, you don’t trust us.’
Josh Allen leads Bills to victory over Lamar Jackson, Ravens in Week 4
Shannon Sharp and Skip Bayless react to John Harbaugh’s decision to go for a critical fourth down.
Co-host Sharp chose the other side of the coin.
“I liked what John Harbaugh did because I love Lamar Jackson” Skip Bayless said. “I believe in Lamar Jackson. You can’t have both sides.”
“Analytics will tell you [that] you have to go for it,” Bayless added. – This is Lamar Jackson. That’s two yards to potentially win the game or at least force overtime. Every time I don’t even blink. They didn’t blink, they didn’t call a timeout, they said go. …The defense was crumbling again. The home team was up 20-3 at the end of the second quarter … and from that point they were outscored 20-0.”
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