The Baltimore Ravens beat the Browns, but they did it in the most dramatic fashion possible. This win was never coming easy:
The Baltimore Ravens have had a hurdle that they couldn’t quite get over for the past few seasons. It didn’t matter who the Ravens faced in a win and your in situation against the Browns. The Ravens could have had the same trouble against the Cincinnati Bengals. The playoffs have been the carrot that Baltimore has chased and chased.
The Ravens were fighting for a division championship and a playoff spot. The Cleveland Browns didn’t care about that. The Browns had nothing to lose and no love lost for the Ravens or their fans. Baker Mayfield has a certain swagger about him that is so obviously rubbing off on the Browns. The Browns were fighting for a winning record, a year after being 0-16. This game certainly meant a lot to Cleveland.
The Ravens could have made this game a lot easier, but little mistakes caught up with the Ravens. Lamar Jackson saw two touchdown runs vanish, one from a fumble, one from a penalty. Baker Mayfield hit wide open wide receivers way too often. The Ravens brought field goals to a touchdown fight.
The psychology of the game was almost cruel. The Ravens, who were so desperate to make this year different, were put in the same exact situation as they were in last year. The self fulfilling prophecy had to be slithering through their minds and they had to have gotten tense.
While the playoffs clearly started early for the Ravens, the Browns had a psychological advantage. The Ravens were in a win and get in situation. If they lost, the season was over and so was the idea of them holding the division crown. The Browns had absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain. It was a playoff game for the Ravens, but for the Browns it was a fearless vendetta.
This is where Don Martindale made the biggest difference. Martindale wasn’t going to lose the same way Dean Pees had. A cliche is the best way to explain what he did; he threw everything but the kitchen sink at Mayfield. Martindale’s decision could have backfired. He told his secondary to man up with receivers across from them, and he sent the blitzes that won the game.
Martindale believing in his players, when the Browns were one completion from victory, that’s what won the game. Martindale was going through the same thing as the rest of the team, but he was the variable that pulled the Ravens through.
Baltimore hosts the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, which means the M&T Bank Stadium is due for another tough fight. If the Ravens win the Super Bowl (A lovely hypothetical for Baltimore) John Harbaugh and company may look back at the battle with the Browns as the hardest step along the way. That is because the Ravens weren’t just battling the Browns. They were staring down their goal from the last two seasons and they were desperate to get over that hurdle. In the end, the Ravens got out of their own way, seized the AFC North championship and the day.
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