Just one more touchdown or one more two-point conversion. That's all it would have taken in so many instances in the Ravens' six-game losing streak to end the season for them to be in the playoffs.
Once again, the same story played out in the season-ending 16-13 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers that knocked the Ravens out of playoff contention and into last place in the AFC North's final standings.
Ahead 10-6 at the end of the third quarter, the Ravens were in position to stomp on the Steelers as their offense had been held in check almost all game in a rainy, cold, defensive slugfest.
But Tyler Huntley's pass intended for Mark Andrews was picked off by diving Steelers cornerback Cam Sutton in the end zone, keeping Pittsburgh alive before its fourth-quarter comeback.
After the game, Huntley and Andrews gave their perspective on yet another game-changing play that didn't go the Ravens' way.
"The two picks, I was trying to get the ball in a great player's hands," Huntley said. "[The] defense did a good job. The first one, he dove out, scooped it off the ground. That's a tremendous play by him. And then the second one, just trying to get the ball to Mark, and the touchdown. The cornerback made a great play. The Steelers played great today."
Andrews put the interception on his shoulders.
"I think it's a touchdown if I just go back to the ball," he said. "That's a mistake on me more than anything. 'Snoop' [Huntley] is seeing the game really well, he's doing a lot of great things. And for me, just got to go help him and come back to that ball, and that's a touchdown, man. My hand was on the ball – so I've got to be better there."
It looked like wide receiver Rashod Bateman was coming open in the end zone to Huntley's left. Huntley said he saw him, but that a defender took away that throw.
"Why I couldn't get the ball to Bateman – it was a flat defender under him, which made me get off of Bateman," Huntley said. "And getting back to Mark, I felt like it was enough space, but I just couldn't drive it how I wanted to."
The Ravens turned the ball over three times, including on their first two offensive possessions when a bad snap led to an aborted play and Huntley fumbled while being hit. Huntley threw an interception on a deep pass intended for Andrews on the next drive.
Andrews set the Ravens' single-season mark for receiving yards and surpassed Derrick Mason's single-season receptions record in the finale. But it stings that so many throws to him, including a pair of two-point conversion attempts against the Steelers and Packers, went incomplete or intercepted.
"There's things that I want back, things I can do differently that help us win that game," Andrews said. "I'm always going to be someone that's very harsh on myself. I'm going to go back, learn, get better and not make those same mistakes next year. I'm going to treat this offseason very seriously."
