12 October 2023
It was a weekend of “miscommunication” in Baltimore pro sports.
One day after Orioles outfielder Aaron Hicks missed a hit-and-run sign in the ninth inning Saturday, leading to Gunnar Henderson being thrown out attempting to steal second base in a 3-2 loss to the Texas Rangers in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, the Ravens made a costly mistake of their own in a 17-10 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Leading 10-3 with 30 seconds left in the first half and the clock running, the Ravens faced a fourth-and-2 from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 23-yard line. With one timeout remaining for Baltimore, it made little sense to risk turning the ball over on downs and coming away with no points.
Well, that’s exactly what happened.
Quarterback Lamar Jackson lined up in the shotgun with wide receivers Nelson Agholor and Zay Flowers and tight end Mark Andrews in a bunch formation to his right, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. split out left and running back Justice Hill in the backfield. While it initially appeared the Ravens were just attempting to get the Steelers to jump offside in the hopes of getting a free play and/or an automatic first down, center Tyler Linderbaum snapped the ball with 19 seconds to go.
Outside linebacker T.J. Watt ran in unblocked from the right side of the offensive line, forcing Jackson to scramble to his right and throw under pressure from blitzing linebacker Cole Holcomb. The ball fell incomplete 10 yards past his intended target, Flowers. Justin Tucker, one of the most accurate kickers in league history, could only watch helplessly from the sideline.
After the game, in which the Ravens were outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter, coach John Harbaugh said the plan was to kick a field goal there before a “miscommunication” — there’s that word again — derailed the drive.
“The idea was to run the clock down and not leave them time to come the other way and then just call a timeout and kick the field goal. But we had just a miscommunication — [in the] heat of battle,” Harbaugh said. “We weren’t on the same page. They jumped the neutral zone, and guys thought they were in the neutral zone and went ahead and snapped it. So, that wasn’t what we were planning on doing.”
Although Steelers linebacker Kwon Alexander did jump toward the line of scrimmage just before the snap, he did not cross it. Linderbaum and Jackson both acknowledged that the snap was a mistake.
“Well, [Linderbaum] thought the guy had jumped in the neutral zone, so I thought we had a free play right there,” Jackson said. “Just a miscommunication — that’s all.”
The lost three points did not prove the difference in the final score, though it was among several costly mistakes Harbaugh lamented in an ugly defeat. In the fourth quarter alone, the Ravens allowed a blocked punt for a safety, Jackson threw an interception in the end zone with 4:04 left and Jackson fumbled after getting hit from behind by Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith with 1:02 to go.
“We just have to get better at operational things and just clean stuff up and make those plays,” Harbaugh said. “I think we’re that close in so many ways, but that’s the difference in a game on the road like this and in this kind of a rivalry game, so we’ll learn from it.”
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