On the day after the Ravens were annihilated by the San Diego Chargers on Sunday Night Football, critics, fans and commentators remain shocked by what they witnessed and concerned about what lies ahead for the Ravens.
The Ravens entered the game ranked third in total defense, fifth in pass defense and hadn't allowed more than 250 passing yards since facing Andy Dalton and the Bengals four weeks ago. Last night, Phillip Rivers demonstrated pin-point accuracy by hitting large receivers Malcolm Floyd and Vincent Jackson, who accounted for 180 of his 270 passing yards. Floyd and Jackson were matched up against Ravens cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Cary Williams for the majority of the game. Smith and Williams, who only have 18 career starts between the two of them, appeared as inexperienced as they truly were, biting on double moves and giving up multiple deep passes. The defensive backs did not receive much help from the rest of the defense that failed to sack Phillip Rivers and allowed over 150 rushing yards.
Although the Ravens' offense started off the game with a few good runs from Ray Rice and sustained a few first-half drives, they couldn't drive down the field against the two-deep safety, zone defense the Chargers played for the majority of the game. Flacco finished the night 23 of 34 and 224 passing yards but the statistics belie the restraint they wrestled with. Flacco was sacked seven times, four by former Baltimore Ravens Antwan Barnes. He threw two interceptions, both in the center of the field, to linebackers Takeo Spikes and Shaun Phillips. The team's second and final touchdown came on a 36 yard touchdown pass from Flacco to receiver Torrey Smith at the end of the game when victory was out of reach.
Last night's loss knocks the Ravens down to the fifth seed, where they will likely remain unless the Steelers lose to the either the San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams or the Cleveland Browns and the Ravens win their final two games. In order for the fifth seed to outlast the playoffs and appear in the Super Bowl, they must visit and defeat their opponents on the road. All of the Ravens' losses have come on the road this season, however, those teams all had losing records. Needless to say, the Ravens must squander their propensity to lose on the road if they want to get anywhere in the playoffs as the fifth seed.
The loss to San Diego shrouds confusion and uncertainty on the Ravens playoff picture. The Steelers, nor anyone else in the league, are guaranteed wins in the NFL. They could lose one of their final three games, regardless of how unlikely that may be. However, the Ravens are no longer in control, they must hope and pray their division rivals slip up somewhere along the way. Next week they play the Cleveland Browns in M&T Bank Stadium for their final home game of the regular season. It need not be said this is a must win game. A ticket to the playoffs is already in hand but the reins to their momentum is not at the moment.
There is a three-letter solution to this problem: w-i-n. Win next Saturday against the Browns and win against anyone else whom they face until they're face-to-face with the Lombardi trophy.
