Jacksonville’s last-minute win over the Baltimore Ravens never should have been.
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The Ravens are now 2-7 on the season, and their latest loss was easily the hardest to believe.
Minnesota’s impressive victory over Oakland relegates the 6-3 Pack to the wild card spot, and their two-game lead in that race will start to look very slim indeed if Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy can’t kick-start the offence in the coming weeks. Starting defensive end Chris Long (knee) missed his fourth consecutive game while his counterpart, two-time Pro Bowl selection Robert Quinn (knee), was limited to just 14 snaps Sunday against the Bears.
Williams’ touchdown, the first of his National Football League career, gave the Ravens a 14-10 lead, which was the halftime score. None hurt more than this one. Neither turnover produced points, with Myers missing a 26-yard field goal after Alualu’s recovery. That made it 14-13, Ravens, with 14:27 remaining in the third quarter after cornerback Davon House intercepted Flacco to start the half. If Hurns, Robinson, and Thomas are able to take the field, the Ravens’ defense is going to be in serious trouble.
TURNOVERS ARE PIVOTAL: Although an interception by Lardarius Webb provided Baltimore with its first takeaway since Week 3, the Ravens committed four turnovers – a common thread in most of their defeats.
Apparently, they got away with not being precise. However, they still managed to allow 316 passing yards and three touchdowns in the game, leaving many plays to the inside of the field and in the flat in the backfield.
“Anytime you go into a short week like that, you don’t have much time to celebrate”, coach Gus Bradley said. The Jaguars came with no timeouts and was forced to run hurry-up offense the entire way with just over a minute to play.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Mybookie.ag, the Ravens opened as 6.5-point home favorites but the line has dropped to 5.
For Baltimore, it is now 2-7 on the year and are looking like a team that will pick in the top 10 of the 2016 NFL Draft. Two completions over the middle wound a few clock and a run by Bortles did the same near midfield. Armbrister, an undrafted rookie from the University of Miami, also got a previous start Week 5 against Tampa Bay. But Elvis Dumervil grabbed him by the face mask, giving the Jaguars 15 yards and an untimed down. Baltimore halted its second three-game slide of the year on November 1 as Justin Tucker booted a 39-yard field goal with three seconds remaining to edge San Diego 29-26. Harbaugh continued, “It was about as tough a loss as you’re ever going to see, (that) you’re ever going to have to deal with”. (Not the first time I’ve thought I might need new glasses.) Though he described the turn of events as “disappointing” and “gut wrenching”, he pretty much took it in stride, saying that’s “just the way it goes”.
Jacksonville will look to improve its offensive production Thursday night against the Tennessee Titans.
I wish they’d stop talking about being a game out of first place but it is true.
The Ravens suffered a major loss, however, as veteran Steve Smith’s season came to an end due to a torn Achilles tendon. And wait till those two uniforms are on the field.
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No time to gloat.
