OTL: “Stop Cheating Us, Bro!”

Well, Flock, the good news is that I didn’t have to write about another double-digit collapse in a loss today! The Ravens pulled it out of the fire at the end of a game that should easily have been in hand, and in doing so secured their first win of the season. Hopefully, by the time the season is winding down, the end of that game will be a footnote in our collective memory and we can just appreciate the Ravens getting the W.

Now onto the bad news.

I make mention of our collective memory because the NFL news cycle moves very quickly. From week to week, we forget things as major news stories crop up, and the storylines that we saw at the outset of the year become forgotten down the stretch… unless our observations become trends and patterns. Early in the year, two such concerning trends have begun to surface that are somewhat linked: Baltimore’s inability to close out games, and excruciatingly bad NFL officiating.

Google: “Worst team in NFL”

Answer: Ravens with a double digit lead.

— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) September 22, 2024

#Ravens just can’t close games. This is unreal.

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 22, 2024

Now, it’s one thing for those around the Ravens to see how much they’ve struggled to maintain fourth quarter leads, so I don’t expect that anyone in Baltimore’s fanbase is just now seeing this pattern emerge. The issue is that it’s gotten so bad that fans and media around the league are noticing the trend, and that it’s becoming a part of Baltimore’s reputation. Mike Tomlin intimated over the years that he and the Steelers know Baltimore’s M.O…

Mike Tomlin on the Ravens years ago: “We know they don’t play a full four quarters.”

Tomlin to his team last week: “When it’s a dying moment, they will try to burn the house down.”

— Russell St. Report (@RussellStReport) October 12, 2023

…and as much as I hate to admit it, there’s probably something to it given how much Pittsburgh has had Baltimore’s number in recent seasons. The Ravens need to fix this quickly, lest they become known as choke artists. Not only is that an embarrassing reputation to hold, it can become advantageous for trailing teams to know you’re beatable if you’re conservative and predictable in the fourth quarter.

Harbs acknowledged they probably got a little too conservative

— Cordell Woodland (@CordellWoodland) September 23, 2024

It’s one thing to have vulnerabilities, because every team is bound to have some, and NFL coaches are the best at what they do because they key in on exactly how to exploit them in other teams. It’s another thing for teams to know you’ll beat yourself, and for them to sit back and let you do it.

The #Ravens were penalized 13 times (105 yards) and outscored 19-0 in the fourth quarter.

— Bobby Trosset (@bobbybaltim0re) September 22, 2024

Harbaugh on penalties: “When you have the number that we have right now, it’s just too many. It’s costing us points in the end. That’s a matter of playing football the right way.”

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) September 23, 2024

13 penalties in a single game is absurd, and, in most cases, will sink any chance you have of winning. The Ravens can thank their O-line, Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry for being able to overcome those massive setbacks, but perhaps the situation wouldn’t have been so dire if the officiating crew could, oh, I don’t know, get it right and do their jobs?

Odafe Oweh was called for roughing the passer on this play pic.twitter.com/apnDF7zsnB

— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 22, 2024

Illegal contact called here on the Ravens… he barely touched him #BALvsDAL pic.twitter.com/KeIdtvrcl7

— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) September 22, 2024

Another penalty on the Ravens… #BALvsDAL pic.twitter.com/pwSXGjLaf9

— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) September 22, 2024

Officiating played a huge factor in keeping the Cowboys alive in Sunday’s game. I understand that being an NFL official means you’re tasked with being both lightning-quick and accurate, which can be a real challenge on those close-looking calls. That said, none of the ones above are even in the neighborhood of constituting the penalties that were called. On one particular non-call in the end zone, the officials gave Coach Harbaugh an explanation after the fact, but even in retrospect, it seems like their logic is flawed

Here’s the explanation John Harbaugh got from referees on why that wasn’t a safety yesterday:

“They said it’s not intentional grounding because somebody caught it, even though it’s an illegal receiver that caught it, which is a penalty. So basically they got rewarded for having… https://t.co/MXiUSejxeR

— Ryan Mink (@ryanmink) September 23, 2024

So even though it’s not considered intentional grounding (which is debatable based on the language of the current rule), it’s probably still ineligible receiver or illegal touching, which… is still a penalty that occurred in the end zone. If your players and coaches don’t have adequate explanations in real time for the penalties being called, it’s an indictment on the quality of the officials, and by extension, the league as a whole, and a lot of people are getting tired of it.

Spot the difference.

Last week refs threw a flag cause the Bengals player got there early.

This week they didn’t throw a flag cause ???

#KCvsATL pic.twitter.com/KqiZFSigF9

— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) September 23, 2024

Tom Brady is fed up with the penalties, lol

— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) September 22, 2024

If THOMAS EDWARD PATRICK BRADY JUNIOR, one of the greatest beneficiaries of NFL officiating over our lifetime, has an issue with the quality of current NFL officiating, this league has a serious problem. For the sake of the Ravens, and the entire fanbase that loves the game of football, I couldn’t have put it any better than Lamar did.

Video of Lamar Jackson saying “Stop cheating us, bro” after a slew of questionable calls on the Ravens pic.twitter.com/79h3mYnd9v

— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 23, 2024

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