The Most Painful Loss in Ravens History… almost.
Only a Baltimore fan would write about ‘if only we had lost.’ It’s in our DNA to reflect on the negative. To stare at our empty right hand when someone has handed us a $100 in our left. Don’t cut off your nose or some such nonsense.
But since this is the team and the city I was born with I won’t hesitate to explain why it’s not an exaggeration to say that IF the Baltimore Ravens HAD lost their regular season finale against the Cleveland Browns it WOULD have been the most painful loss in franchise history.
To me this is the more sensible conversation to have today. Forget the Chargers and the playoffs. Forget the future. Let’s focus for a second on the past! Doesn’t that sound healthy?
Fortunately for Ravens fans most of our heart-breaking losses are actually courtesy of the Orioles so we don’t have that large of a sample size. Most franchises would be thrilled with two Super Bowl victories in a little over 20 years of existence but then again those franchises aren’t the Ravens and the cities aren’t Baltimore. We have a unique complex that requires that after a big victory we analyze what could have gone wrong.
Let’s jump in!
I remember when Baltimore didn’t have a team. I remember when we got a team (Thank you Cleveland). Our first Super Bowl (Thank you Cleveland), our second Super Bowl (Thank you Defense) and last year’s heart-breaking defeat (Can we trade Buffalo and Cincinnati to Canada for Toronto and a territory to be name later?)
And without question losing last night’s game against the Browns would have been the worst and easily the most painful in franchise history. Without question. Tell me I’m wrong.
Anyone who has followed pro football knows that it was only a year ago that the Ravens found themselves just seconds from a playoff berth only to have it snapped away by their AFC North foes, the Cincinnati Bengals. Buffalo Bills fans are still donating money to Bengal charities thanks to the victory propelling not the Bengals but the Bills into the playoffs.
With that memory lingering and finding themselves in the exact same position again, one would think that would be enough to prevent the Ravens from experiencing a similar fate, right? If not that memory than certainly the retooled, rebranded, reequipped new-look Ravens would have enough weapons to beat the, until recently, lowly Cleveland Browns, right? There is no way a team — with arguably the league’s best defense and the league’s hottest new offensive weapon in rookie QB Lamar Jackson-would allow a visiting team with a history of losing to come into Ravens stadium on a cold December night and steal away with a victory that would for the second year in a row end the season for the 70,000 Baltimoreans who turned out to celebrate and hand a ticket to the playoffs to the hated Pittsburgh Steelers, right? RIGHT?!
Right before halftime it appeared as though the Ravens were poised to dominate. They led 20–7 and had 3rd and goal from the 1. Then instead of going up 27–7 or even 23–7, Jackson fumbles.
Really need you to hang on to that ball, Action.
Instead the Browns and their energetic, polarizing QB Baker Mayfield marched right back down the field from their own one yard line and, well, they missed a field goal, but you could almost feel the tension inside the stadium — and I was in New York.
Fans for both teams felt like the Ravens left something on the table at that point. The second half unfolded in the storybook way that often miraculously happens in sports. The Browns started scoring touchdowns while the Ravens settled for field goals and with a few minutes left Cleveland had the ball and all of the momentum.
Meanwhile, a few hundred miles away in Pittsburgh where the Steelers, who had to win and had to hope for a a Ravens loss in order to get into the playoffs, were putting the finishing touches on an uninspired victory against the Bengals thanks to the leg of a rookie kicker who quietly went 3–3, including the deciding kick which sealed the win and turned every pair of eyes at Heinz Field to the jumbotron where not only the fans but the players stayed on the
field and began rooting for their oldest foe the Cleveland Browns to beat their more recent rival in the Baltimore Ravens. (A team that, oh yeah, by the way, skipped out on the city of Cleveland and proceeded to win the Super Bowl in Baltimore just four seasons later.)
With under two minutes remaining the Browns were driving. They ‘completed’ two incredible passes to former Raven Breshad Perriman and Mr Jarvis ‘Bless ‘em’ Landry. They had 1st and 10 just yards away from being in position for a game-winning field goal.
And with that the table was set for the worst loss in Ravens franchise history. With one first down the Browns could crush the Ravens, hand victory to the hated Steelers, and oh yeah let’s not forget the part the Bengals played in all of this. The lingering memory of last season. The always present former Ravens Defensive Coordinator and also the league’s most unfire-able(?) coach, Marvin Lewis doing everything he could to keep the Bengals close as possible without actually winning.
Two games. 4 teams from the same division. Both coming down to the final minute. Both on CBS.
These are the moments at CBS where you just know if Les Moonves was still in charge he’d have his pants around his ankles pretending he didn’t know his secretary was still in the office.
Which shouldn’t go unappreciated by CBS. If The Bengals had taken off their pads to reveal CBS t-shirts I wouldn’t have been surprised because of their simple, unwavering commitment to keeping that game close but still allowing the Steelers to win and thus moving us one step closer to the most intense ending to a season for an ENTIRE division in recent memory.
If the Ravens win they’re in...
If the Browns win then the Steelers defeat the Ravens by proxy and make the playoffs.…
The Browns, who were supposed to be in a rebuilding year, officially announce their presence with authority and…
Oh yeah, also the Bengals were there.
My whole life I’ve been an Auburn fan. But last night when it was 4th and 10 (their most important 4th down stand since stuffing Colin Kaepernick — who is shockingly similar to a current Ravens QB don’t ya think? — and the 49ers at the goal line in Super Bowl XLVII) and they needed a play they got that play from former Alabama star linebacker and in my opinion, the face of the Ravens defense moving forward, Mr C.J. Mosley.
With the greatest and most sincere respect to all of my Auburn friends out there all I can say is, ‘Roll Tide.’
Forget almost blowing the lead in the Super Bowl to the 49ers. It didn’t happen. I spent days after that too analyzing what that would have felt like even if it had but it didn’t.
Felt like it might and if it had that would probably take this spot but it didn’t so the spot for most painful loss in franchise history was certainly in play and thanks, once again, to who else but the Baltimore Ravens Defense the franchise and the city are back in the playoffs and our most painful loss averted.
I suppose now that we’ve analyzed what happened, crisis narrowly averted as they say it’s nice to reflect on the new look AFC North.
I honestly can’t believe I’m saying that. But the Steelers will always be a strong team. The Browns suddenly look like a team that can play with anybody. The Lamar-led Ravens are the most fun version of that team I’ve seen since their Super Bowl victory and … oh yeah… also the Bengals will be there.
