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

The aftermath:

Instead of putting the momentum clearly on the side of the underdog Ravens, it gave Pittsburgh a sigh of relief going into the halftime intermission. Walking away with nothing was asking for trouble. The Steelers extended the lead to 19-7. The offense looked absolutely incapable of coming back from that deficit.

Getting the touchdown would have been a boost for the Ravens. It would have given them hope that they could get the job done. It would have rewarded the defense for bringing so much effort into a very tough position all game long. Quite frankly, it would have set up a completely different second half of football.

It still may have been a different game if the Ravens got a field goal. Momentum was a huge influence in this game. The reason momentum was so important was that the team was so shorthanded that they needed every boost and boon they could get. Remember, the score was 19-14. One little thing could have made a humungous impact on the final result.

Honestly, it would have been inspiring if the Ravens scored there at all. The first half performance gave the Ravens hope however failing to score was a downer. Even a field goal would have changed the complexion of the contest. The halftime break would have been a moment of hope rather than one of frustration.

The Ravens did not control what they could have controlled. They played that completely wrong. This was situational football at it’s worst. It’s also very inconsistent for Harbaugh in terms of his aggressiveness. In the third and fourth quarter, he played not to lose. He wasn’t aggressive then. Instead of an almost common sense fourth-down attempt late in the game, the Ravens punted. This just makes Harbaugh’s decision making it even harder to follow.

This was a valiant effort and all that. It was still a poorly coached game. This point was very visible in the Ravens botched ending in the first half.