The Baltimore Ravens could have strengthened their playoff case in Week 14, but a controversial call that went against tight end Isaiah Likely in the fourth quarter might have cost them dearly.
The Ravens certainly had their chances, but ultimately, they suffered a potentially catastrophic home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Baltimore came away miffed after a potential go-ahead touchdown pass to Likely was ruled an incomplete pass.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh voiced his displeasure with the ruling after the game, and the NFL also attempted to explain the call.
“The receiver controlled the ball in the air, had his right foot down, then his left foot down,” NFL vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth told The Athletic’s Jeff Zrebiec, who served as the pool reporter after the game.
Sounds like a catch, no?
Butterworth continued: “The control is the first aspect of the catch. The second aspect is two feet or a body part in bounds, which he did have. Then the third step is an act common to the game and before he could get the third foot down, the ball was ripped out. Therefore, it was an incomplete pass.”
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As Butterworth noted, for the touchdown to be upheld, Likely needed to commit “an act common to the game,” which he apparently didn’t do — enough. Zrebiec questioned whether the half-step was enough for the score.
“For this play,” Butterworth explained, “it would be him completing the third step.”
The situation was compounded by another controversial call that went against Baltimore midway through the fourth quarter. It appeared Baltimore had either intercepted Aaron Rodgers or at least recovered a fumble after he caught his own batted ball before it was ripped out. That play was overturned, too, with Butterworth saying officials ruled Rodgers down by contact before losing the ball.
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Certainly, there’s not much the Ravens can do about the calls at this point. The reality is they are 6-7 now, a game behind the Steelers with a gauntlet ahead of them. Baltimore finishes the season with road games against Cincinnati, Green Bay and Pittsburgh, with their lone home game coming against the AFC’s No. 1 seed, New England.
In the end, that might make the Week 14 showing — which wasn’t good enough before and after the Likely ruling — the beginning of the end for Baltimore.
“The rulings will provide good talk show fodder over the next few days,” Zrebiec wrote for The Athletic. “What it shouldn’t do is distract from the reality with the Ravens. They simply weren’t good enough Sunday to win a football game at home against an also-vulnerable team.”
The Ravens currently own the No. 9 seed in the AFC, behind the 8-5 Texans and Colts. Indianapolis’ road to the playoffs just got tougher with Daniel Jones‘ Achilles injury, and a Chargers loss to end the week could help Baltimore. But the Ravens would still be chasing three five-loss teams, indicating the only real path to the playoffs is winning the division.
According to NFL.com’s metrics, the Ravens have just a 32% of making the playoffs.
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