When tight end Mark Andrews made his spectacular over-the-shoulder catch, hauling in Lamar Jackson’s 12-yard touchdown throw which punctuated an 8-play, 75-yard drive, the Baltimore Ravens held a 20-10 lead against the New York Giants with 12.54 left in the fourth quarter.

Based on the flow of the game up until that point, especially after a first half that saw them gain 256 yards while limiting the Giants to 90, there seemed no way that the Ravens would squander this opportunity in the same way they had blown substantial leads in their previous losses to the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills.

And yet, when time expired, the Ravens could do nothing but look around in exasperation at the final score, a 24-20 win for the Giants, wondering how they once again managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Baltimore, a franchise that opened the season with Super Bowl aspirations, could very well be sitting pretty at 6-0.

The reality is that at 3-3, they’re neither exceptional nor intimidating right now. But at least they still sit atop the AFC North division, tied with the Cincinnati Bengals, who also have a .500 record.

When Giants running back Saquon Barkley, who had been held mostly in check for the first three quarters, took a handoff and gained zero yards on the first play of the ensuing drive after Andrews’ TD grab, that 10-point Ravens lead looked safe.

With Jackson, Andrews and running back Kenyan Drake teaming up like Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly in the “Three The Hard Way”, the Ravens were beating the Giants into submission.

New York’s bread and butter, Barkley, had been contained. Their pedestrian passing attack seemed to pose no threat. Everything was gravy.

And in an instant, everything changed.

What had been adequate and fun suddenly turned abominable. It was like watching the ending of “Grease”, when Danny and Sandy’s implausible flying car inexplicably ruined an otherwise terrific movie.

People will point to Jackson’s ill-advised fourth quarter interception, along with Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux forcing him to fumble after Barkley’s touchdown dive gave New York a 24-20 lead as the reasons for the meltdown.

But that’s an erroneous train of thought. Because this one unraveled with one single penalty, and the fault lies entirely with the coaching staff.

With the Ravens leading 20-17, Lamar and the offense took possession with 6:01 left in the game.

First and 10, Lamar hit Josh Oliver for a nine-yard gain. Drake proceeded to gain the first down with a short run on the next play.

First and 10 as the clock ticked away, Lamar ran for five yards setting up a 2nd and 5. Next play, he hit Tylan Wallace for a short gain of four yards.

And here’s the critical moment where it all began to go downhill.

It’s 3rd and 1 at the Ravens 44-yard line with 3:09 left in the game. Lamar proceeds to hop behind his left guard for the crucial 2-yard quarterback sneak that gives the Ravens a first down and keeps them in control of the game.

But they were called for an illegal formation, nullifying the first down and now setting up a 3rd and 5. That penalty proved to be the team’s downfall and you can’t put that on Lamar.

I understand that the word “If” is the biggest two-letter word in the English language. But if that illegal formation never happened and the team continued its drive while milking the clock, Lamar never fumbles and throws that interception to Julian Love on the ensuing play.

And the blame for that lies solely on the coaching staff for not having the team prepared to line up in that formation, or for not calling a timeout when they recognized that they were lined up incorrectly.

It’s like the saying from the old Woody Woodpecker cartoon, when Buzz Buzzard conned him out of his newly inherited fortune: “If Woody had gone right to the police, this would never have happened.”

If the team had been drilled to line up correctly in that situation, or if the coaching staff would have called a timeout after recognizing the error, none of this would have happened.

If that penalty didn’t happen, the ensuing errant snap that got by Jackson, forcing him to pick up the squibbling ball deep behind the line of scrimmage and proceeding to throw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted? None of that would have happened.

It was another disappointing finish for the Ravens, with the team squandering a stellar effort from Andrews, who had seven catches for 106 yards and a touchdown, and from Drake, who surprised with his 10 carries for 119 yards along with his 30-yard touchdown scamper.

The 5-1 Giants are this season’s surprise story, having already exceeded last season’s win total.

The Ravens must be kicking themselves for letting this one get away. But the season’s still young and the postseason dream can get back on track with a home win next week over AFC North Rival Cleveland next Sunday.

All they have to do is figure out how to stop blowing leads, and how to stop losing games that they should be winning.

alejandro.danois@thebaltimorebanner.com

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