Eric Weddle pointed to himself first when talking about what went wrong in Monday's 30-23 loss to the New England Patriots.
The veteran safety took responsibility for allowing a 79-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Chris Hogan in the fourth quarter that essentially dashed Baltimore's hopes of a comeback. The long touchdown gave the Patriots a 10-point lead with just over six minutes left to play.
"We played well, we just gave up a big play – myself – you make a mistake in a critical situation, you lose a game, that's what happened," Weddle said. "I should be there."
The long touchdown came after the Ravens had scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to nearly erase a 20-point deficit. A pair of special-teams fumbles by the Patriots let the Ravens back in the game. Hogan's touchdown put the Ravens back into a deep hole that they couldn't overcome.
The touchdown throw by quarterback Tom Brady was his fourth of the day, and he got Weddle to bite on the play-action fake. Weddle inched near the line of scrimmage as Brady faked the handoff, and that left Hogan completely uncovered down the middle of the field.
"I told everyone that play action was coming. I move around so much that it hurt me on that play," Weddle said. "It's just unfortunate when you have a chance to win a game and you give them a play like that. It wasn't so much them, it was us. But hey, they played a phenomenal game."
The late miscue by Weddle was unfortunate because he had played so well earlier in the game. He had an interception in the end zone and a sack, and seemed to be keeping the Ravens in the game when it could have gotten completely out of hand.
"We fought, we just didn't get it done and we'll get better from it," Weddle said.
During the television broadcast, ESPN commentator Jon Gruden pointed to safety Matt Elam as the culprit on the play. Elam, who replaced injured defensive back Jerraud Powers (concussion), was lined up across from Hogan and slipped in coverage.
But Weddle and Head Coach John Harbaugh both said not to blame Elam.
"It wasn't Matt Elam's play to make in coverage, before we start pointing fingers," Harbaugh said.
The Ravens have largely limited big plays this season, but they have been undone by them late in games in losses to the New York Giants and the Patriots. In both of those games, top cornerback Jimmy Smith missed the second half because of an injury. Smith also missed the Dallas Cowboys matchup in which wide receiver Dez Bryant scored two touchdowns.
Smith left Monday's game in the first quarter with a sprained ankle, and the Ravens didn't specify how much time he's going to miss. The Ravens also didn't provide an injury update on Powers.
Regardless of who's healthy, the Ravens stressed that they need to quickly move past their loss. They still control their path to the playoffs, but that would change if they fall to the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday in Baltimore.
"We got to move forward," Weddle said. "The mentality has to be right. We can't let this hang over us for our home game."
