The boos rained down as the clock hit zero and the Baltimore Ravens’ last-ditch attempt to get in position for the tying or game-winning points was officially thwarted by the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Ravens’ home opener was supposed to be a celebration of football being back, of their status as legitimate Super Bowl contenders, of a roster that features a two-time MVP-winning quarterback and a defense loaded with stars.
Instead, the home team provided a tutorial on how to blow a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and squander a game it had no business losing. By the end of a ghastly 26-23 loss to the Raiders, the excitement had been fully sucked out of M&T Bank Stadium.
If the Ravens don’t figure things out quickly, the anticipation that accompanied this season of great expectations will be extinguished quicker than Baltimore’s 23-13 lead was Sunday afternoon.
“There’s no way we should be 0-2, but it is what it is,” said Ravens middle linebacker Roquan Smith
It is, indeed. And to be clear, these Ravens have earned their way to their first 0-2 mark since 2015. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. In defeats to the Kansas City Chiefs and Raiders, they’ve been an error-prone, inconsistent football team that has found ways to lose games rather than win them. They’ve been decisively unclutch, and that’s among other things.
Losing to the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs in Week 1 at Arrowhead Stadium is understandable. But there’s no legitimate excuse for a healthy and well-rested team falling at home to the Raiders, who didn’t take their first lead of the game until Daniel Carlson’s 38-yard field goal with 27 seconds remaining.
“They were just better and that’s why they won,” said running back Derrick Henry, who rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown. “We didn’t make the plays that we needed to, as an offense.