Much to the delight of the Buffalo Bills, the Baltimore Ravens choked away their chance at a playoff berth, with every possible event needed to knock them out of the postseason happening on the same day.
All the Ravens had to do was beat a hapless Cincinnati Bengals team whose head coach, at the time, looked like he was calling his final game. They lost 31-27, surrendering a 49-yard touchdown to Tyler Boyd on 4th and 12 with 44 seconds to go in the game. In the annals of choking, that’s got to be in the Top Three of all time.
Andy Dalton's TD to Tyler Boyd…
1) Put the Bills in the playoffs
2) Raised over $100k for charity
3) Eliminated the Ravens
4) Saved Marvin Lewis' job?— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) January 2, 2018
Still, even with a loss the Ravens had a chance to sneak in. All that had to happen was the Buffalo Bills needed to lose on the road to the Miami Dolphins or the Tennessee Titans drop their home game to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Neither of those things happened and now, Baltimore will watch the playoffs at home like the rest of us.
Here’s what really has to burn the Ravens’ collective asses about the last second gag-job. If they got into the playoffs, they’d be facing the Jaguars in the Wild Card round. Now, I know Jacksonville beat the shit out of the Ravens back in September, but that happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. London, actually.
I mean, that looked like a win to me and a trip to New England in the divisional round, a team they usually compete very well against.
So what’s next for this franchise that’s been stuck in the mire since they barely lost to the Patriots in the divisional round, 35-31, in 2014?
JOHN HARBAUGH
Harbaugh isn’t going anywhere, obviously. There were some crazy rumblings that he might get fired last season, but that’s just ridiculous. Even with the self-induced strangulation loss to the Bengals on his back, he’s one of the safest coaches in the league for now. The guy who might not be so safe is on his staff.
Last season former Detroit Lions head coach Marty Mornhinweg was promoted to offensive coordinator in Week Six after Harbaugh fired former Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman. He kept the job in 2017. Under his leadership this season the Ravens were No. 27 in total offense, but No. 9 in points. What does that mean? It means the defense was pretty good and forced plenty of turnovers and short field opportunities. I don’t think Harbaugh will replace Mornhinweg, but 2018 is his last year without some real improvement.
On defense, Dean Pees did a fine job for the most part and that side of the ball was, unquestionably, the team’s best. They finished the season ranked 12th in yards allowed and No. 6 in points allowed per game. Pees got Terrell Suggs back to the Pro Bow and celebrated all that by retiring Tuesday. The Ravens now have to bring in a new defensive coordinator to take over a talented, but aging unit. They’ve already reached out to former DC Chuck Pagano, fresh off his firing from the Indianapolis Colts. Don’t be surprised to see that deal get done before the weekend’s out.
The Ravens have spoken to former Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, trying to lure him back to Baltimore to be the defensive coordinator, per colleague @MikePrestonSun. Ravens have other options, but he appears to be their focus at this point.
— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 2, 2018
JOE FLACCO
All season long, Flacco has eaten shit in the media and fanbase. Let me tell you right now in case you need to read it somewhere, this team isn’t making any change at the quarterback position. They’re not bringing in any realistic competition in camp. If they draft a guy, it’ll be in the later rounds to serve purely as a back up. Flacco is the Ravens’ quarterback for at least the next two seasons and probably for the rest of his career.
That was the 200th touchdown pass of @JoeFlacco's career. pic.twitter.com/GwBqnP2AqS
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 1, 2018
Just last season the team signed him to a three-year extension on the already huge contract he earned after his Super Bowl victory in 2012. He’s averaging $22.1 million a year, which is a damn bargain for a franchise quarterback. If the Ravens did want to trade or cut Flacco (and they don’t), they’d have plenty of suitors. Flacco is a franchise quarterback. He just is and all the complaining and gnashing of teeth doesn’t change that.
You want numbers to back it up? OK, how about a 102-67 career record. A 61.7 career completion percentage, 35,780 yards, 200 touchdowns with 130 interceptions. Or a 10-5 postseason record with a Super Bowl title and MVP. Flacco is one of the best playoff quarterbacks of his generation. He’s the last guy to beat Tom Brady at Gillette and nearly did it twice. Flacco has led his team to the playoffs six times and never, not once, been one-and-done.
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said he expects to have a full healthy offseason. "I'm definitely a little bit of rest," said Flacco, who dealt with a back injury earlier this season. "I don't foresee anything crazy happening." https://t.co/tQtHZ60IVo
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) January 1, 2018
Flacco’s overall numbers were down this season, but just a little and that has a lot more to do with his back injury than his ability to play quarterback. He never was truly healthy, but suited up for the team anyway simply because there was no other option. Yes, I’m calling back up quarterback Ryan Mallet “no other option.”
NEXT SEASON?
While the Ravens can look at a winnable playoff game that got away (yeah, I’m talking about you, Jacksonville), there’s a silver lining to garroting themselves out of playoff consideration in the last minute of the final game. Instead of picking in the mid 20s in April’s NFL Draft, they’re at No. 16. With the number of quarterbacks that could be going early in the annual selection meeting, that could equal a Top 10 talent.
Ravens felt like they had "something special" this season.
📰: https://t.co/vOFwEjffWP pic.twitter.com/gSTHwHmD2T— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 2, 2018
They’re only set to lose two real free agents and one of them, tight end Benjamin Watson, will probably retire. Wide receiver Mike Wallace has become a real weapon for Flacco and the team this year, so they might want to keep him. He won’t cost any real bank. They don’t have a lot of cap space, currently it’s $11.8 million, so they’ll need to work their magic through bargain priced free agents and the draft.
They could also lose some guys they don’t need or are under-performing like running back Danny Woodhead and bust receiver Breshad Perriman. That adds more than $3 million in available cap money right there.
Top unrestricted free agent wide receivers: Allen Robinson. Jarvis Landry. Sammy Watkins. Marqise Lee. Paul Richardson. Donte Moncrief. Mike Wallace. Eric Decker. Terrelle Pryor. John Brown. Kendall Wright. Taylor Gabriel. Jordan Matthews. Brice Butler. Mike Floyd. D Amendola
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) January 2, 2018
How far can the Ravens go in 2018? If Flacco is healthy and they trim the fat on their roster, they can compete for a Super Bowl title. They’re that close. But this is a team, like the Arizona Cardinals, that could get old quick. Any real championship window is closing and they blew an opportunity to try to steal one this season by Tiger-induced asphyxiation.
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