John Harbaugh's Aggressive Decisions Labeled Reason for Ravens' Win
In HarBowl 3, it seems only fitting that some of the game's most critical plays came from gutsy coaching decisions.
The Ravens improved to 8-4 on the season after defeating the Los Angeles Chargers on "Monday Night Football," 30-23.
According to pundits, the reason the Ravens came out on top was Head Coach John Harbaugh's confidence on a trio of fourth down conversions. One in particular – a fourth-and-1 from their own 16-yard line – was a historically aggressive call, and it was rewarded.
Here's what the pundits said about John Harbaugh's aggressive mindset against his brother Jim:
The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec: "The key play in the game may have been a 2-yard run by a tight end. With the Ravens facing a fourth-and-1 at their own 16 after the two-minute warning in the second quarter, Harbaugh sent his offense back on the field after the stoppage. Tight end Mark Andrews took the direct snap and picked up the first down. Three plays and one defensive pass interference penalty later, the Ravens reached the end zone when Jackson hit Rashod Bateman for a 40-yard score. The Ravens went for a fourth down on two other occasions on a drive that started in the third quarter and they got a touchdown on that drive, too."
The Baltimore Sun’s Brian Wacker: "John Harbaugh gambled and won. The analytics favored the Ravens going for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 16-yard line late in the second quarter, but trailing 10-7 at the time meant not getting it would have been disastrous. Of course, Baltimore never had to worry about that, and Harbaugh showed belief in his high-powered offense by going for it and converting on three fourth downs, including two on one drive. The Ravens went on to score touchdowns on both series, and that swung the momentum from what had been a sluggish start."
The Baltimore Sun’s Childs Walker: "You won't see a wilder momentum flip than the one the Ravens pulled off just before halftime. Facing fourth-and-1 deep in his own territory, coach John Harbaugh made a shocking call to go for it with a direct snap to Mark Andrews, who converted. A few plays later, Lamar Jackson hit Rashod Bateman for a 40-yard touchdown to put Baltimore up 14-10. Boldness rewarded in the brother vs. brother coaching showdown."
The Baltimore Sun’s C.J. Doon: "And how many other NFL teams would have the guts to for it on their own 16-yard line trailing in the second quarter? Maybe the Detroit Lions? Don't take that for granted… That fourth-down call might have saved the Ravens from being down two scores at halftime."
The Baltimore Banner's Paul Mancano: "Nobody made a bigger impact on this game than John Harbaugh, however. His gutsy decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from Baltimore's 16-yard line was important. The comparison between John and his brother, Jim, was an obvious one to make coming into this game. The Chargers are one of the NFL's best stories, thanks in large part to the younger Harbaugh. But John Harbaugh, who improved to 3-0 against his brother, showed he's still one of the league's best head men."
CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr: "With the Ravens trailing, 10-7, at the two-minute warning in the second quarter, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh decided to make the gutsiest call of the season by going for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 16-yard line… Without the gutsy call by Harbaugh to go for it on his own 16, the Ravens don't change the momentum of the game. A failed conversion could have turned the whole game around in favor of the Chargers. This was also the deepest in a team's own territory a team has converted on fourth down this year."
NFL.com’s Grant Gordon: "Trailing by three points with two minutes to go in the first half, facing fourth-and-1 from the Baltimore 16-yard line and looking for a spark, John Harbaugh eschewed any concern of consequences and called tight end Mark Andrews' number -- at quarterback. Following the two-minute warning, the Ravens broke the huddle, sprinted to the line and Andrews lined up under center before sneaking it 2 yards. Not long after, Lamar Jackson hit Rashod Bateman for a 40-yard touchdown and the Ravens were off and running to a 30-23 win."
Russell Street Report’s Nick Polinsky: "For as much crap as John Harbaugh takes, his decisions are probably the reason the Ravens won this game comfortably. The Ravens were 3/3 on 4th down and scored 14 points off of Harbaugh's two 4th-and-1 decisions in his own territory."
Pressbox’s Bo Smolka: "Head coach John Harbaugh likes to go for it on fourth down as much as any coach in the league, but still, going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Ravens' 16 late in the second quarter was an ultra-aggressive move even by his standards. It also proved to be the call of the game."
While the decisions were labeled anywhere from aggressive to ultra-aggressive, the analytics supported each of Harbaugh's fourth-down decisions.
Under-Appreciated Stars Shine in Los Angeles
While the usual suspects made their impact on Monday's game with Lamar Jackson throwing for two touchdowns and running in another and Derrick Henry racking up 140 rushing yards, pundits found some of the more under-appreciated players helped secure the win.
"In a game with this much hype — Lamar Jackson versus Justin Herbert! John Harbaugh versus Jim Harbaugh! — who could've imagined the Ravens' leading tackler would be linebacker Malik Harrison? Or that running back Justice Hill would deliver the game's decisive blow," The Baltimore Banner's Jonas Shaffer wrote. "The Ravens had to win this game on the margins. … They got more than enough help from their little-known reserves and their bold coaching decisions. The box score wasn't studded with star performances, but it didn't need to be."
Along with the offensive contributions, the Ravens' defensive depth answered the call, filling in for Roquan Smith (hamstring), who missed his first game to injury as a Raven.
"The Ravens had to play without All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith, and defensive coordinator Zach Orr had said last week that if that were the case, Smith's job would be handled 'by committee,'" Smolka wrote. "Indeed it was, and Malik Harrison responded with what head coach John Harbaugh called the best game of Harrison's career. Alternating between inside and outside linebacker, Harrison finished with a team-high and career-high 12 tackles, including one for loss. Inside linebackers Kristian Welch and Chris Board also were involved."
Slow Starts a Concern for the Offense
At Week 7 a month ago, the Ravens were a top-10 scoring team in the first quarter, averaging 5.9 points in the frame. But as the season's wore on, they've been struggling to start the game in high gear. Against the Chargers, the Ravens once again went scoreless in the opening quarter.
Pundits have little to worry about with the Ravens' offense as they top the rankings in key areas, but the slow starts are a growing concern.
"It's far from ideal, and the Ravens have a lot to figure out," Russell Street Report’s Kevin McNelis wrote. "They've been held scoreless in the first quarter [in five] of their last six games."
While the concern has been expressed, the confidence does remain in the offense to pull it together, as they did against the Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos, and Cincinnati Bengals.
"I'm not sure if it was just me, but the slow start didn't deter me," Polinsky wrote. "It reminded me of the Bucs game, and the Ravens offense played to that level the rest of the way… Lamar Jackson worked through some early struggles and ended up playing pretty well but the offense ran through Derrick Henry. Henry was gaining 5 or 6 yards at will and broke a few of his carries into the second level."
"Once they were able to get out of their own way, the Ravens put together their most complete win of the year," Baltimore Beatdown’s Nikhil Mehta wrote. "Both sides of the ball were a little slow out of the gate, but both Todd Monken and Zach Orr found the answers from the second quarter onward."
- Lamar Jackson's 40-yard touchdown pass to Rashod Bateman traveled 57.4 yards in the air, making for Jackson's second-longest completion of the season and his second of over 50 yards of air distance, per Next Gen Stats. All four of Jackson's longest completions this season have targeted Bateman.
