The Baltimore Ravens had a chance to move to 4-1 and gain a stranglehold on the AFC North against the division-rival Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
For a while there, it looked like this was going to happen. Relying on a stingy defense, Baltimore had a 10-3 lead in the fourth quarter. It was then outscored 14-0 in the final stanza.
This late-game meltdown included five Ravens dropped passes and an ugly Lamar Jackson interception in the end zone late in the fourth quarter.
Instead of moving to 4-1 on the season, Baltimore is now in a first-place tie with the aforementioned Steelers at 3-2 heading into Week 6.
Star Ravens tight end Mark Andrews was not happy about his team’s performance in talking to reporters from Pittsburgh after the game. He did not hold back.
“It’s almost like a sleeping giant, man,” Andrews told reporters. “We need to wake up.”
It was never going to be easy going into Pittsburgh and coming away with a win. Divisional matchups like the one we saw on Sunday are always difficult. But for Andrews and Co., that’s a mere excuse.
“That stuff can’t be contagious,” Andrews said. “If one [drop] happens, whatever, [we have to] move on and get to the next play. We need to be better. Obviously, Lamar is putting the ball right where it needs to be, and we need to be there for him and make plays. We do that, we win this game.”
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As noted above, the Ravens dropped five passes. That included Rashod Bateman failing to haul in a pass in the end zone in the second quarter. Baltimore had to settle for a field goal and a 10-0 lead rather than moving up two touchdowns.
As for Jackson, the interception he threw late in the fourth quarter came with Baltimore up two points and looking to take a two-score lead. It was some pretty ugly stuff.
“I believe so,” Jackson said. “We didn’t want to, but [we had] little mishaps. We’re right there. We had [the Steelers] beat. [On] offense, we had to find our groove; we didn’t find it. The defense played a great game — kept stopping, kept giving us opportunities. We’ve just got to do what we do [and] finish drives.”
Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson in whether they gave the game away
Baltimore now heads overseas to take on the Tennessee Titans in London next week. It’s pretty much a must win for the team.