Going for two with all that momentum?
Relying on analytics when your team has the best kicker in the league?
The Ravens’ 20-19 loss to the Steelers cannot be going over well in Baltimore. Coach John Harbaugh shrugged off overtime and chose to go for two at the very end. It didn’t work.
Imagine the reaction in Pittsburgh had Steelers coach Mike Tomlin made a similar decision — and failed.
Let’s check with some writers in Baltimore and around the league.
“Defensively, the Ravens wore down in the second half, which is unusual considering they dominated time of possession in the first half. That’s not coaching, that’s just getting whupped. The Ravens should have just kicked the extra point at the end of the game instead of going for the 2-point conversion,” wrote Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun.
After cutting the deficit to 20-19 on a 6-yard TD pass from QB Lamar Jackson to WR Sammy Watkins with 12 seconds left, Ravens coach John Harbaugh immediately signaled to go for two. My immediate reaction was to laugh, columnist @MikePrestonSun writes. https://t.co/Y6OwvtVSCW
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) December 6, 2021
Preston — and many fans — believe Harbaugh made the incorrect decision.
”There will be other times this season where these situations will occur. Harbaugh will have the backing of most of his team because they are used to his gambling and no player will say anything different, regardless — not publicly, at least,” he wrote. “But this time he was wrong. You kick the extra point and live to fight in overtime.”
Harbaugh “didn’t want any part of overtime,” wrote Frank Schwab of Yahoo! Sports.
“It was a calculated gamble to go for two, and it didn’t pay off. It might have been questionable only because the Ravens should consider themselves the better team. The Steelers didn’t want overtime either, and were happy to end it on Jackson’s incompletion to Andrews.”
Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post defended Harbaugh’s decision. The Ravens’ secondary had some injuries and was faltering.
“It didn’t work, but Harbaugh still chose correctly,” wrote Kilgore. “It’s true that kicker Justin Tucker gives the Ravens the advantage in any overtime game. But Harbaugh knew he would be without top cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who could miss more time after a shoulder injury, and didn’t want to risk playing overtime with a secondary than had suffered breakdowns late in the fourth quarter.”
