Baltimore Ravens fall to Steelers: Examining botched end of the 1st half

What should have happened:

The Ravens can’t use the officials as an excuse. Everybody who rationally viewed the game understands that the Steelers should have been penalized for a delay of game. It was as egregious as it was obvious after the second-down play. The officials didn’t make the call, oh well. The Ravens had to make the most of the situation. They had to control the things they could and should have controlled.

The Ravens should have spiked the football and given Justin Tucker a field goal attempt. That would have made the score 12-10 Steelers. It wouldn’t have been as exciting as 14-12 Ravens, yet it’s a lot better than 12-7. The textbook answer here is taking the points. There is a reason that it’s the textbook answer. You cannot have wasted trips in the red zone and expect to win.

On the final play on third-down, Wilson should have been able to make that grab, but again, oh well. He didn’t make the play. The result of him dropping the football was John Harbaugh not being bailed out for a bad decision. This was bad situational football from a very seasoned head coach.

The play-action pass should have been the second down play call. Why? Well, an incomplete pass on the second down play wouldn’t have ended the half. It would have acted like a timeout by stopping the clock. It would have been the more inspired decision.

Let’s also acknowledge that the Steelers weren’t expecting Griffin III to put the ball in the air there. They were keying off on the run. It would have been more effective of a play-fake. The play-action pass used was a good concept. It was very close to working. That play a down sooner would have been the best shot at getting into the end zone.