Ravens’ John Harbaugh Explains Why He Went Two And Won Over Steelers
John Harbaugh doesn’t want Raven to work overtime on Sundays in Pittsburgh.
After Lamar Jackson hit Sammy Watkins on a six-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds left, the Ravens had the option of kicking the game-forced PAT. Instead, Harbaugh chose to go two and win.
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Jackson closed tight Mark Andrews opened up in the right area, but his pass was a bit wide and Andrews couldn’t catch with one hand. The Steelers recovered the kick shortly after and won 20-19.
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Harbaugh said after the game that, because of his injury to Raven’s saves, he didn’t want to give Pittsburgh a chance to drive in extra time.
“Trying to win the game right there. We had quite a few corners out at the time, so this was an opportunity to try to win that game,” he said. .
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The Ravens entered the game with a decline in full-back depth due to injury. All five corners are listed as questionable, although four of them – Anthony Averett, Jimmy Smith, Marlon Humphrey and Tavon Young – have played. Marcus Peters is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
Inactive for Raven against Steelers: RB Ty’Son Williams, WR Miles Boykin (finger), TE Nick Boyle (knee), OLB Jaylon Ferguson (ill), CB Chris Westry (thigh),
So out of Raven’s five suspicious CBs, four of them (Humphrey, Averett, Young, J.Smith) will play.– Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) December 5, 2021
Humphrey was injured in the match. Harbaugh said he would order an MRI and alluded to the possibility of an extended absence. After the game it was announced that Humphry would be out of action for the season.
#Ravens According to sources, CB star Marlon Humphrey will have to miss the rest of the season due to a shoulder injury. A significant blow to the Baltimore defence. Another one.
– Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 6, 2021
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Injuries contributed to the Ravens finding it difficult to defend in the second half. Baltimore held the Steelers to three points in the first half, but Pittsburgh scored 17 points in the final three times of the game as the defense began to languish.
The final points went to a touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Diontae Johnson and a 2-point conversion for Pat Freiermuth to finish tight, putting Pittsburgh 20-13 with 1:48 remaining.
Baltimore did what it needed to do in response, driving 60 yards over eight turns for touchdown, before taking the lead. Harbaugh said things went the way he had hoped, outside of the outcome.
“You’ve seen the play. I mean, it’s almost there. Game of the inch. Saw Al Pacino’s speech in ‘Any Given Sunday’, right? You’re gone. It’s football. Just close. That’s it,” Harbaugh said.
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The win was an important one for the Steelers, who moved to 6-5-1 during the season and are still on the hunt for knockouts. The Ravens (8-4) remain top of the AFC North ahead of second-placed Bengals, who lost to the Chargers on Sunday, but they were relegated to third seed in the AFC.