With the Ravens clinching a postseason berth after a 17-9 victory over Atlanta on Christmas Eve, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Saturday marked the ninth straight game Baltimore has played against opponents currently under .500, but there’s still something to be said about winning the games you’re supposed to win. Though concerning questions persist, the Ravens were fine in improving to 3-1 since Lamar Jackson’s knee injury. “Fine” was good enough.
2. How many times have we seen the Ravens build a two-score lead early in the fourth quarter before proceeding to give up a long touchdown drive? The defense did its share of bending in the second half, but the goal-line stand altered that familiar script.
3. Offensive struggles inside the 20 have overshadowed the defensive dominance inside the red zone since late October. After ranking 26th in red-zone defense through Week 7, the Ravens have allowed a touchdown on just seven of their opponents’ last 24 trips inside the 20. Regardless of the competition, that’s impressive.
4. How long had it been since a Baltimore wide receiver caught a touchdown before Tyler Huntley connected with Demarcus Robinson in the second quarter? On that day, Michael Pierce suffered his season-ending biceps injury in New England while the Orioles had over a week to go in the 2022 season.
5. It’s tough to believe Marlon Humphrey’s punch-out was just his second forced fumble since registering an NFL-high eight in 2020. That was one heck of a play by the Pro Bowl cornerback after the Falcons had converted a fourth-and-2 and were threatening to score.
FRUIT PUNCH IS BACK❗️@marlon_humphrey forces the fumble and @Patrickqueen_ recovers!
Tune in on FOX! pic.twitter.com/K8EPtvcCjf
6. The outcome of the Ravens’ last two wins has been decided with the ball in the hands of Gus Edwards as an 8-yard run on second-and-7 set up victory formation and capped his 99-yard rushing performance. Baltimore has to love having its closer back.
7. Falcons rookies Drake London and Tyler Allgeier could definitely play for my team. They combined for nearly 64% of Atlanta’s receiving and rushing yardage and did all they could to help rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder, who looked overwhelmed early in the game.
8. Who knew the Ravens simply needed to bring back Sammy Watkins to register their longest reception since DeSean Jackson caught the 62-yard bomb in Jacksonville in Week 12? Then again, Huntley and Watkins connected for the clutch completion in the comeback win at Chicago last year.
9. One rarely questions any field goal try for Justin Tucker, but asking him to make a 55-yard field goal in such cold and windy conditions was suspect. Why not try to pop a surprise run on third-and-11 from the 41 with designs to then go for it on fourth down?
10. After the intentional grounding call at the end of the first half and the holding penalty that wiped out a Cordarrelle Patterson touchdown in the third quarter, I suspect Falcons coach Arthur Smith wasn’t handing out Christmas cards to referee Bill Vinovich and his crew after the game.
11. The postgame interview room was quite a scene as reporters and John Harbaugh were keeping an eye on the Cincinnati game being shown on the TV on the back wall. Taking the next step is the goal, but four playoff trips in five years still shouldn’t be taken for granted.
12. There was some attendance handwringing over what went down as the coldest game in franchise history, but more fans showed up than I expected, a sentiment a “really grateful” Harbaugh seemingly shared. “It’s not exactly ideal outdoor sport weather — unless you’re an ice fisherman or something.” Indeed.
