By Chris Schisler
The Baltimore Ravens beat the Denver Broncos and the Los Angles Chargers convincingly. The rest of their wins have come in the most insane ways imaginable. In some of these games, I still can’t believe they actually pulled out the win. So in the spirit of having some fun, let’s rank each of the Ravens five miracles this season.
Baltimore Ravens crazy wins:
5. Erasing a 14 point deficit to the Vikings:
The Baltimore Ravens started the Vikings game about as poorly as they could have. Baltimore trailed 17-10 at the end of the first half. The second half started with a touchdown return for the Vikings. The score was 24-10 and the way Baltimore was playing, this game felt over.
The Ravens outscored the Vikings 21-14 in the second half to take the game to overtime. In overtime, Lamar Jackson threw an interception trying to get the ball over a defensive end and into the flat. The Ravens defense found a way to get the stop and Justin Tucker found the win with his leg.
In the second half, you got a completely different Lamar Jackson. It was a completely different Ravens team. When this team gets rolling they are unstoppable. This was fun to watch.
4. Oh my Justin Tucker
If you would have told me after Tucker hit this field goal in week three, that there would be three finishes in front of this one, I would have been shocked. Tucker hit a 66-yard field goal to win the game against the Detroit Lions. Tucker hit a 61-yard field goal in 2013 to beat the Lions. Ford Field is kind to number nine. Until the 66-yard field goal that was his career-long. The football hit the crossbar and then bounced in between the uprights and made Tucker the record holder for the longest field goal in NFL history.
This game probably gets pushed down on my list because of how frustrating the game was. The Ravens had an irredeemable mess on their hands. Dropped passes took a lot of points off the board. The defense buckled eventually. The offense came up short time and time again. If there is a Ravens game I have no interest in rewatching (outside of the crazy finish where Lamar Jackson launched a prayer to get Tucker the chance for that miracle kick) it’s this one. This game was hell to watch. The finish was pure euphoria though.
3. Chicago still can’t believe it:
This game has the benefit of recency bias. At the time of this writing, less than 24 hours have passed since the incredible win. The Bears probably thought they had gotten away with one. Lamar Jackson didn’t play due to a non-Covid illness that sounds about as fun as eating nails and screws. The Bears found themselves up 13-9 with very little time left in an ugly game on a windy Chicago day.
Then a backup quarterback went down the field and got the Ravens a win. This was a day where the Ravens just had to find a way. They were without so many players. They didn’t have Lamar Jackson or Marquise Brown. The defense was more depleted than usual. It was a situation and the Ravens found a way to get the win. If this doesn’t show the resolve of this team when they band together to get something done, I don’t know what does. Congratulations Ravens, you showed you had the heart needed to attack a tough backend of the season.
2. Comeback against the Colts:
Lamar Jackson broke a franchise record for the most passing yards in a game. He found 442 yards in the air and his rushing yards put him over 500 total yards. The Baltimore Ravens were down 22-3. How did they win this game? Even with Lamar Jackson stepping up like Superman to save the day, the Ravens needed a lot of things to go right here.
They needed a blocked field goal by Calais Campbell. They needed a little luck after Tavon Young set up the game-winning field goal with a personal foul. The long and short of it, they needed a magical evening that couldn’t possibly be topped. The Ravens’ comeback against the Colts will go down as one of the most improbable wins ever in sports. Not just football, but sports in general.
Jackson put on one of the biggest displays of leadership I have ever seen with this performance. He willed his team to win. His generals stepped up at the moment. Mark Andrews had the game of his life with 11 receptions, 147 yards, and two touchdowns. Marquise Brown had nine catches for 126 yards and two scores. I pity the fools who went to bed angry and frustrated with the purple and black. They missed a show for the ages.
1. Baltimore Ravens top the Chiefs 36-35
The Baltimore Ravens hosted their kryptonite on Sunday Night Football. In front of a national audience, Lamar Jackson showed he could beat the Chiefs and make an amazing comeback all in one night. Jackson officially crossed off two things on the haters’ go-to list of things he couldn’t achieve. Ultimately, that is why this game gets the top billing.
The Ravens were down 35-24 at the end of the third quarter. It looked like the Ravens couldn’t stop the Chiefs’ offense. It looked like hope was officially lost. Jackson, who had two interceptions in the first half showed up.
He would not be denied. He put the team on his back and he screamed “Let’s go” with his play and his demeanor. Jackson put up 239 yards passing and had the best jump pass you’ll ever see in the process. He rushed for 107 yards and accounted for three touchdowns. No matter what happened, Jackson was walking away with a win. It was written, he decided it.
The defense joined in on the no matter what spirit of that majestic comeback. Odafe Oweh forced Patrick Mahomes to throw an interception, that gave the Ravens a boost late in the game. When a Chiefs’ game-winning field goal seemed imminent, Oweh forced Clyde Edwards-Helaire to fumble. Jackson would pick up the game-winning first down on a fourth-down attempt.
On that night the Baltimore Ravens knew they couldn’t give Mahomes the ball back. It was poetic justice, it was a feeling that couldn’t be matched in that stadium on that night. Jackson picked up the first down and the Ravens sent a statement to the league. Words can’t do that comeback justice.
NEXT POST: Baltimore Ravens sneak past Bears: 7 lessons on victory Monday
As a guy who covers the team I’m trying to keep some of the emotion from bleeding through the screen you’ll read this on. As a Ravens fan since I was 10 years old, nothing could have meant more than being there at that emotional roller-coaster of a game. The reason it’s number one for me is that the emotion was going to sneak through no matter what my fingers did on this keyboard. This game means the entire world to me.
