The Ravens saw their postseason hopes turn on one pivotal play Sunday night, and coach John Harbaugh was left to explain his thinking on the crucial moment after his team’s wild-card loss to the Bengals.
Baltimore quarterback Tyler Huntley fumbled at the goal line with 11:39 to play in the fourth quarter while trying to jump over the pile and reach into the end zone with the football on a quarterback sneak. Instead, the ball was knocked out before crossing the goal line, and a 98-yard touchdown return by Bengals defensive lineman Sam Hubbard ultimately clinched the game for Cincinnati.
Afterward, Harbaugh said Huntley didn’t execute the play as intended and that it was a mistake to try to jump over the pile to score.
“On the quarterback sneak, we felt like we had a good call. It was a push sneak play,” Harbaugh said. “It just wasn’t executed. … Tyler went over the top. It’s a burrow play. Tyler’s gotta go low on that. That’s the way the play’s designed. We felt like that was the best call. We just didn’t execute it right.”
The Ravens attempted three plays inside the 3-yard line on the drive in question and came away with no points. Not a single one of those plays went to star running back J.K. Dobbins, who expressed his frustration with the decision making by the coaching staff at the pivotal juncture of the game.
“I don’t get a single carry,” Dobbins said. “I didn’t get a single carry. [Huntley] should have never have been in that situation. I believe I would have put it in the end zone again.”
A long offseason awaits for the Ravens as pivotal question marks abound. Priority No. 1 will be trying to work out a contract with star quarterback Lamar Jackson, who is scheduled to be a free agent for the first time in his career after failing to reach a contract extension with Baltimore prior to the start of the season.
