Baltimore Ravens’ playoff berth delayed by 17-34 loss to Denver Broncos – NFL Recap
The Baltimore Ravens conceded perfect home record against the visiting Denver Broncos who led by their star performer quarterback Peyton Manning conveniently walked over the hosts with the final scorecard 34-17 at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday (Dec. 16).
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco under supervision of the first-time offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell found himself helpless in getting past Broncos’ strong defence while his counterpart Peyton Manning registered 9th straight winning start.
It was third straight loss by the Ravens and they are still held back from a playoff berth. The most concerning point of the Ravens’ loss was Joe Flacco’s fumbles and miscues, which cost the team more because all those opportunities were converted by the
Broncos to their gains.
He said:
"We're a 9-5 football team and we feel like we're 0-14 right now.”
Overall, it was completely a disastrous result for Jim Caldwell into his role of offensive coordinator for the first time. While QB Flacco managed to complete 50 percent, 20 out of total 40, passes for 254 yards, running back Ray Rice could manage to run
for 38 yards on 12 carries.
It was an equally worse performance by the defence, and safety Ed Reed acknowledged his shortcomings.
He said:
"As a player, I am embarrassed for our city."
Coach John Harbaugh has also accepted the blame of seeing the team pretending to be a side studded with rookies, instead of veterans like Flacco, Ray and Reed.
The coach said:
"We couldn't get anything going until late."
Denver cornerback Chris Harris who converted a miscued throw from Flacco to a touchdown said of the win:
"You come to the Ravens' house and beat them handily; it's definitely a statement game. We definitely wanted to show to everybody that we're an elite team."
Flacco said of the poorly judged pass:
"I made a mistake, no other way to say it. I wanted to have a fade, came down flat. The guy undercut it, picked it and went the whole way."
The win has allowed Peyton Manning to maintain a perfect record of winning starts against the Ravens. On the other hand it has held back the hosts from a clear playoff berth.
It was third straight loss by the Ravens, a rather concerning point of their performance after having made a superb start to the season, winning several games consecutively. They just need a win to progress through the second phase but in view of their latest
form the victory has become difficult for them.
Pertinently, they sacked their offensive coordinator Cam Cameron a week earlier and handed over the role to QBs coach Caldwell, who has made a losing start.
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