They fell flat with the lead in the AFC North on the line, but head coach John Harbaugh was reluctant to blame Baltimore Ravens players, instead focusing on the officials and some critical overturned calls that went against his team against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14.
Speaking after the Ravens were on the wrong side of a 27-22 scoreline against their fiercest rivals at home, Harbaugh focused his ire on two plays in particular. Primarily, the 63-year-old lamented an apparent touchdown catch by tight end Isaiah Likely being ruled incomplete after review at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, December 7.
Harbaugh revealed, “The explanation was that the third foot didn’t get down before the ball came out. That’s what they said,” per Ravens Vault co-host Sarah Ellison.
Likely’s apparent go-ahead score being chalked off wasn’t the only call Harbaugh was left to rue going against the Ravens. There was also an apparent interception by rookie middle linebacker Teddye Buchanan getting overturned because Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was judged to still have control of the ball.
Harbaugh was clear when he said, “You know what, I believe a lot of things. I think the Aaron Rodgers play [overturned interception] – and we’re just talking about rules here, it’s not an officiating issue. It comes from New York. But when you’re making a catch, you have to survive the ground. He didn’t survive the ground. He’s not down by contact. He was catching the ball on the way down with another person, so you gotta make a catch there and survive the ground. I don’t know why it was ruled the way it was on that one. All of those things I’m sure they’ll explain it to us, but they had plenty of time to look at it and they’re the ones that are the experts on the rules.”
There were other hotly contested calls that didn’t go Baltimore’s way, but Harbaugh can’t escape how key areas of his team failed to perform. Vital mistakes in critical moments doomed the Ravens as much as any controversial officiating.
John Harbaugh Rues Pivotal Calls
Likely’s seemingly certain touchdown grab in the final quarter was taken away because there was no third step while the fourth-year pro still had control of the ball. At least not before he lost possession amid scrappy hand fighting from Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
As NFL VP of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth told the press, “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,” per Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic.
A closer look at the play, highlighted by Steelers Depot, only adds to the sense of confusion and indignation, at least from the Ravens’ perspective. To his credit, Likely was philosophical when asked for his interpretation of the ruling.
The pending free agent who’s future was already in doubt after the Ravens paid veteran All-Pro Mark Andrews, told reporters, including Carita Parks of Double Take Sports, “They made a call…gotta live with what the refs say at the end of the day.”
Likely’s understanding won’t make this loss any easier to take. Not when the Ravens turned the ball over on downs soon after, and not when they also came up short on the other side of the ball.
Buchanan, who has impressed during his debut campaign, thought he’d wrenched the ball loose from Rodgers. Unfortunately, review deemed Rodgers had actually won the tussle for the tipped pass, even though as Harbaugh pointed out, the experienced signal-caller appeared not to “survive the ground.”
Harbaugh’s take looks like the correct one, based on highlights of the play from Ellison’s colleague Bobby Trosset. Yet, officials saw it differently, just as they did when nose tackle Travis Jones was flagged for a personal foul trying to block a field-goal attempt in the second quarter.
The flag gave the Steelers a fresh set of downs, and they soon cashed in when Kenneth Gainwell ran for a six-yard touchdown. Harbaugh “didn’t see head and neck contact. That is what I did not see. You need to have head and neck area contact, and it needs to be forceful contact, not incidental contact. I didn’t see any contact myself,” according to Ellison.
Things didn’t go their way, but the Ravens were also guilty of too many self-inflicted wounds.
Ravens Made Too Many Mistakes
Erratic officiating was damaging to the Ravens, but so was a defense burned by too many big plays. Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf amassed 148 yards on just seven catches, while running back Jaylen Warren reeled in a 38-yard score in the fourth quarter.
Harbaugh called Warren’s touchdown “one of our worst plays that we had” because “Guys weren’t on the same page with assignments,” per Ellison.
Defensive breakdowns weren’t the only problem. Not when Lamar Jackson continued to struggle for consistency.
The franchise quarterback missed on 16 of 35 throws, took two sacks and tossed an interception. Jackson being far from his best in recent weeks has only exacerbated the other issues across the Ravens’ roster.
Those weaknesses should be tougher for Harbaugh to take than any disputed calls.
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