Through driving rain, Baltimore closes in on playoffs.
M&T BANK STADIUM, BALTIMORE – One of Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh’s favorite sayings is, “It’s never easy. It’s never pretty. But it’s us.”
By that measure, his team played a typical game Saturday night in a cliff-hanging, unnecessarily close 23-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts. The win moved Baltimore one step closer to a playoff berth — which would be its first since 2014.
In a game-long monsoon rain, the Ravens (9-6) were able to overcome a listless defensive effort with a grind-it-out offensive game plan. There were five drives of ten or more plays – a first since 2011 – as Baltimore displayed its better overall depth and talent.
That combo resulted in the Ravens’ 190th regular-season win in franchise history (120th at home) in front of an announced crowd of 70,590 rain-soaked fans.
Baltimore now moves into the sixth and final AFC playoff spot regardless of what the Bills do in Sunday’s game at New England. That’s because the Ravens have a better record against common opponents.
For the Ravens, a playoff berth will be assured if it wins the regular-season finale against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals (Sun., Dec. 31, 1 p.m.; WJZ-TV; WIYY-FM). To add icing on that cake, a sweep of the Bengals would ensure the Ravens’ first winning season in three years.
There’s another possibility, though. If the Ravens lose to the Bengals and Buffalo beats Miami in Week 17, then the fifth tiebreaker would be used – Strength of Schedule. If that happens, the Bills would grab the sixth seed and earn their first playoff berth since 1999.
But, thank goodness, a loss to the Colts didn’t scramble the playoff picture even further. It could have, though, because the Colts (3-12) largely avoided mistakes that have plagued them in an injury- and error-riddled season. Indianapolis committed just two penalties and didn’t turn the ball over against a Ravens’ squad that leads the league in takeaways (33) and turnover ratio (plus-17). Indy only had 15 giveaways in its previous 14 games.
A Maxx Williams four-yard touchdown catch from Joe Flacco (29-for-38, 237 yards, two touchdowns, one sack, season-high 109.2 rating) with 7:54 to go–a play set up by two untimely Colts defensive penalties–seemed to salt the game away at 23-13.
“Seemed” is the operative word. It was Flacco’s seventh touchdown pass in his last four games. The Ravens also had history on its side, having outscored the opposition 50-10 in the fourth quarter this year. The Colts are on the flip side of that coin with a 123-35 negative season-long differential in the same quarter.
So it “seemed” like the visitors’ fate was sealed. It just didn’t turn out that way.
After a Colts field goal cut the lead to seven, the Ravens offense did them a favor with a Nick Boyle false start, an incomplete pass, and a Sam Koch punt that was blocked by Anthony Walker.
The punt block (the first incurred by the Ravens since Week One of the 2013 season — a streak of 376 punts without a block) — set up the Colts at the Ravens’ 27. Only when Maurice Canady knocked down a fourth-down pass at the 5 was the victory assured.
While the Ravens were clearly the better team, they didn’t fire on all cylinders in this game.
Baltimore opted for curious play calls at inopportune times and couldn’t muster much of a pass rush against Colts’ quarterback Jacoby Brissett (16-for-33, 215 yards, touchdown, two sacks, 79.7 rating). It was a curious outcome for a QB who had been sacked a league-high 49 times coming into the game.
Part of the problem was that the Ravens went with only four healthy wide receivers in the game, opting instead, to go with a slow-paced running attack in rainy, windy conditions.
Ironically, the passing game turned out to be the vital part of the Ravens’ offensive attack. Flacco’s 23-yard pass to Mike Wallace (60 yards, four catches) set up Justin Tucker’s 30-yard field goal midway through the first quarter.
Brissett, on the other hand, nearly got picked off twice on his first possession, but then settled down to find leading receiver and tight end Jack Doyle (41 yards, five catches) with a couple of third-down passes against the Ravens’ blitz. But after Marlon Humphrey denied TY Hilton (100 yards, six catches) a third-down catch, safety Tony Jefferson blocked Adam Vinatieri’s 38-yard field-goal try.
The Ravens had been the only team against which Vinatieri had been perfect. He had been 12-for-12 against them in his career, including hitting all five field goals in a 2006 Divisional playoff game. Instead of Vinatieri perfection, the Ravens got their 13th block of a kick or punt since 2014, which ties them for second-most over that span.
But the Baltimore offense struggled, going without a first-quarter touchdown for a seventh straight week. Running back Alex Collins (51 yards, 18 carries) added to the misery by fumbling for the second time in three games and the fourth time this season.
Flacco came to the rescue by extending plays better than he has at any time all season.
Hilton answered with a 21-yard catch to the Ravens’ 30 and Frank Gore (68 yards, 17 carries; 18 yards, two catches, touchdown) keyed a run-oriented drive that ended with a screen-pass catch (and fine individual effort) on a 14-yard touchdown that brought Indianapolis to within 10-7. It was Gore’s first career touchdown in four career games against Baltimore.
Thankfully, the Flacco-led offense responded. A 15-yard reception by Buck Allen (37 yards, eight carries) and a 19-yard pass to Wallace set up Tucker’s 39-yard field goal, making for a 13-7 halftime lead.
For Tucker, it marked his 30th field goal of the year. His fifth 30-field-goal season ties him with David Akers, John Carney, and Stephen Gostkowski for the league record.
Tucker had a record-setting day (photo, Ravens)
Tucker reached another milestone by capping off a third-quarter drive with a 36-yard boot for his 800th career point. He reached that mark faster than any other kicker (doing it in his 95th career game).
Those points gave the Ravens a 16-7 lead.
But on third-and-2 from the Colts’ 15, the Ravens abandoned a dominating ground attack and threw the ball on third-and-2 only to watch Nick Boyle get thrown for a loss.
The Colts, who have only given the ball away 15 times despite their poor record, answered back with Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal to get within 16-10 at the 7:13 mark of the third.
A 30-yard screen pass to Marlon Mack late in the period set up Vinatieri’s 38-yard boot, which drew the Colts even closer.
In the end, while the Colts hung around, the Ravens hung on. It’s a methodology Baltimore is used to.
It’s never easy. It’s never pretty. But it works.
