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Ravens can't cash in, fall again to Colts
Colts 17, Ravens 15
November 23, 2009
Mistakes in fourth quarter
leave Ravens at 5-5, spoil solid defensive effort against Manning;
offense is held without a touchdown as Baltimore loses 7th straight
to Indy
Moments after throwing a
critical fourth-quarter interception in the red zone, Ravens
quarterback Joe Flacco angrily pulled down on his face mask and yelled.
The new face of the franchise
revealed that the Ravens' 17-15 loss to the undefeated Indianapolis
Colts was the ultimate gut-wrencher in a season filled with
frustrating defeats.
The announced sellout crowd
of 71,320 at M&T Bank Stadium could only watch in disgust as the
Ravens imploded in their worst fourth quarter of the season. There
were so many people to blame that it could fill a Mayflower truck -
from the offense's futility at the goal line to Flacco's interception
to a coaching blunder to Ed Reed's out-of-control lateral.
In the end, it was enough to
drop the Ravens to 0-4 in games decided by four points or fewer and
even lead Joe Cool to come unglued.
"It's a game that we
thought we could have won," Flacco said. "You come up
short, and it was because of a dumb play. It's definitely going to be
a little frustrating."
The frustration level was
heightened because the weakest parts of the team - the secondary and
field-goal kicking - played well enough to win. The secondary helped
hold Peyton Manning and the Colts' offense to their lowest point
total since the season opener, and new kicker Billy Cundiff tied a
Ravens record with five field goals.
But the Ravens (5-5) still
found ways to lose for the fifth time in seven games. While there are
just three teams ahead of the Ravens for the two wild-card spots -
the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4), Denver Broncos (6-4) and Houston
Texans (5-4) - the players realize what they need to accomplish in
the final six games.
Said wide receiver Derrick
Mason: "We know the road ahead of us - we have to win every game
from here on out. Point blank. However you cut it, dice it. Anyone
that thinks differently is lying to themselves. If you want to call
it pressure, then it's pressure."
When the Ravens faced the
pressure Sunday, they folded in excruciating fashion to the Colts
(10-0). With the Ravens trailing 14-12, here's how the final 12
minutes played out:
oThe Ravens failed to score a
touchdown with three shots from the Indianapolis 1-yard line. Flacco
was stopped on a quarterback sneak on first down, and running back
Willis McGahee was stuffed on second and third downs.
"They made good plays.
That's all I can say," McGahee said. "Still, it was my job
to get it in, and I didn't get it in. You can't blame nobody but myself."
McGahee, though, had little
room to run because of the blocking breakdowns. "But still, who
are we really going to blame?" said McGahee, tapping his chest
and smiling.
Asked why the Ravens didn't
give the ball once to 260-pound fullback Le'Ron McClain, coach John
Harbaugh said, "I don't think it would have made a difference
who was carrying the ball in that situation the way it played out."
Instead of scoring a
touchdown, the Ravens settled for a 20-yard field goal to take the
lead at 15-14 with 10:12 remaining.
oAfter the Colts went ahead
again, 17-15, on a field goal by Matt Stover, Flacco forced a
third-down throw in heavy coverage to Ray Rice and was intercepted in
the red zone. If he had thrown the ball away, the Ravens would have
had a chance to go back in front with a 31-yard field goal.
"It was a bad job going
to Ray in that situation," said Flacco, who had the NFL's
fourth-best quarterback rating in the fourth quarter entering the
game. "I didn't see the guy."
The guy Flacco didn't see was
middle linebacker Gary Brackett, who was supposed to blitz but
dropped back when he saw Rice coming over the middle. Rice said the
play was designed for him to draw double coverage, which would clear
the underneath route for tight end Todd Heap.
But Flacco went to Rice, as
he had done nine other times during the game.
"That's a play we can
execute," Rice said. "If I take two [defenders], somebody
is going to be open. That's the moral of the game."
The Ravens ended the game
without reaching the end zone in four red-zone trips.
"We did some great
things on offense but weren't able to score touchdowns," said
offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, whose offense totaled 354 yards.
"That's the story of that game. I think everyone knows it and
everyone saw it."
oOn the ensuing Colts series,
Harbaugh made a mistake by calling a timeout before throwing out the
red flag to challenge the spot of the ball on Reggie Wayne's short
catch. When referee John Parry didn't overturn the play, the Ravens
lost their final two timeouts with 2:19 left in the game.
"I was trying to flip
the timeout into a challenge," Harbaugh said. "They
wouldn't let me do it. They were right in not letting me do it. I
tried to get too much done in that situation. That was a bad job by me."
oAfter the Ravens' defense
stopped the Colts for the sixth time in nine drives, Reed ran back
the punt 4 yards before trying to lateral the ball to rookie
Lardarius Webb. The haphazard toss was recovered by Indianapolis'
Freddy Keiaho at the Ravens' 40.
The Ravens would have needed
to go 32 yards in 28 seconds for a long field goal if Reed had
signaled a fair catch. His turnover allowed the Colts to seal their
seventh straight win over the Ravens with a kneel-down by Manning.
Harbaugh didn't talk to Reed
after the game and didn't want to comment on it to reporters. "I
don't have any thoughts on it right now," he said.
Reed, who has lateraled the
ball several times throughout his career, declined to comment in the
locker room.
"I was surprised,"
Webb said of the lateral to him. "I thought he was going down.
He likes to make the big play. That wasn't the play that lost the game."
The Ravens' second straight
home loss - the first time that has happened since the end of the
2007 season - was a team effort. Now, the Ravens have to fix
everything before playing the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers
on Sunday night.
"We got to make sure we
do what we need to do from here on out to win football games,"
Mason said. "No more excuses. That's what it boils down to."
Baltimore Sun reporters Kevin
Van Valkenburg and Edward Lee contributed to this article.
By the numbers
3
Turnovers forced by the
Ravens, the second-most this season by the team. The Ravens
intercepted four passes against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 27.
4
Trips to the red zone by the
Ravens, who came away with six points inside the 20-yard line (two
field goals, one missed field goal and an interception).
5
Field goals by new Ravens
kicker Billy Cundiff. It ties a team record set by Matt Stover four
previous times.
6
Games without a first-half
touchdown by the Ravens. The last one was Derrick Mason's leaping
20-yard touchdown grab in New England.
17
Fewest points scored by the
Colts since their season opener. The Ravens' defense has allowed just
20 points in its past 11 quarters.
Colts close in on record
The Colts on Sunday extended
their regular-season winning streak to 19, which is second-best all
time.
No. Team Seasons
|
21 New England 2006-2008
19 Indianapolis 2008-2009
18 New England 2003-2004
17 Chicago 1933-1934
16 Chicago 1941-1942
16 Miami 1971-1973
16 Miami 1983-1984
16 Pittsburgh 2004-2005
15 L.A./ San Diego 1960-1961
15 San Francisco 1989-1990 |
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