The season isn't over for the Ravens, and it may not be over for Lamar Jackson either.
Jackson missed his third straight game as the Ravens lost to the Los Angeles Rams, and Baltimore's playoff chances are very slim heading into Sunday's regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, Head Coach John Harbaugh did not rule out the possibility of Jackson (ankle) playing against Pittsburgh.
"He's been pushing to try and come back to play and practice," Harbaugh said. "There's a chance that he'll play on Sunday."
Harbaugh said rookie outside linebacker Odafe Oweh (foot) could also play after sitting out Sunday. Jaylon Ferguson played a season-high 41% of the defensive snaps in Oweh's absence and took full advantage of his opportunity.
"Jaylon has played well. I thought this was his best game probably," Harbaugh said. "He played very physical. He was in the right spots and had an impact on the game."
Play-Calling Was Not the Problem on Delay of Game Penalties
The Ravens had two costly delay-of-game penalties in the fourth quarter. The first and most costly came on third-and-goal from the 4-yard line, turning that situation into a 3rd-and-9.
The Ravens didn't convert and had to settle for a field goal, keeping it a one-score game at 19-14 and allowing the Rams to score a go-ahead touchdown on their final possession. The second delay of game penalty came on Baltimore's final drive when they were trying to score before time ran out.
The Ravens were playing with a backup quarterback (Huntley) and center (Trystan Colon), who replaced Bradley Bozeman when he became ill just before kickoff. But Harbaugh said the penalties should have been avoided, and that the substitutions and play calls were made with ample time to snap the ball.
"The couple that we had were basically ones we should've gotten off," Harbaugh said. "It wasn't like we were running late. Those are plays we could've gotten off and we should've gotten off. We didn't, so we're disappointed with those."
The penalty that led to the Ravens not being able to score a touchdown on their final trip came back to haunt them.
"We wanted a touchdown there," Harbaugh said. "The fact we were unable to score there to make it a nine-point difference, that was huge for us. That was really disappointing. I think we were all not very happy.
"Let's be honest, we had opportunities to score touchdowns and we got field goals on offense. We did move the ball, we made plays on offense, we did some good things. But you've got to score touchdowns. Our offensive players, our offensive coaches, myself, all of us, we're disappointed in not scoring touchdowns yesterday. We score touchdowns we win the game. It's that's simple."
Harbaugh Happy With Clock Management on Rams' Final Drive
The Rams milked the clock effectively on their game-winning, 75-yard touchdown drive that left the Ravens with only 57 seconds and one timeout on their final possession.
As the Rams moved inside the 10-yard line with under two minutes to play, Harbaugh was trying to save timeouts, but he also wanted the offense to have time to score if the Rams took the lead. Harbaugh said he did not regret his decision to try and stop the Rams, rather than letting them score and giving the Ravens the ball back with more time.
"No way," Harbaugh said. "There was a good chance we were going to keep them out of the end zone there. That was what we were trying to do in that case."
The Ravens almost succeeded, forcing the Rams into a fourth-and-5, but Stafford completed a key pass to Odell Beckham Jr., who made a great 5-yard catch for the first down. Beckham caught the game-winning touchdown pass on the next play.
Baltimore didn't win the game, but Harbaugh thought the strategy was sound. Stafford and Beckham just made clutch plays.
"We played it out the way we wanted to," Harbaugh said. "It went the way we thought it would with the timeouts, and I thought we did a good job with that."
Harbaugh Says Having Marcus Peters on Sideline Was a Plus
Marcus Peters is out for the season, but he was an animated presence on the sideline Sunday as the Ravens faced his former team.
Peters knows the Rams' offense well and is a shrew student of the game, which contributes to his prolific playmaking ability. Peters was giving as much advice as he could to Baltimore's defense and Harbaugh appreciated it.
"It's always great having Marcus on the sideline," Harbaugh said. "They're not all allowed to be there, it depends on the stage of the rehab sometimes. But Marcus is great with the guys, great with the DBs, he has a great understanding of the game. He had been studying the game plan. He knows the offense there. I thought he had some really good insight for the guys, his energy's always great."
