Declan Doyle's gutsy final play-call to Zay Flowers proves he's built for the moment

After the Baltimore Ravens blew a second-half lead to the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle took heavy criticism for his play-calling (including from me). Thankfully, he responded with a bang, helping the Ravens pull off a 34-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys.

Doyle's gutsy late play call to set up a game-winning field goal by Tyler Loop shows he isn't playing around. With just seven seconds left, Doyle designed a beautiful play to get Zay Flowers open, which carved out a 27-yard gain leading to a 56-yard game-winning field goal.

For all the rightful praise Loop, Flowers, and Lamar Jackson are getting for their roles in the final drive, Doyle needs to get credit for his play design and aggressive mentality. Frankly, I think plenty of play-callers would have taken a knee and moved to overtime. But Doyle (and Jesse Minter) is trying to win at all costs. And that's exactly the play-caller I'd want on my team.

Declan Doyle's all-in style helped the Baltimore Ravens pull off a win

Notably, this was the latest a game-winning drive has started after a kickoff since 1978, per Benjamin Solak. That doesn't happen without Doyle.

The best play-callers are on their A-Game when the lights are the brightest. Doyle proved to everyone that he's ready for these big moments with how he closed out Sunday's game. From both a creativity and aggression standpoint, Doyle laid it all on the table and justified the preseason hype around him.

Generally speaking, a lot of the criticism around Doyle last week was valid, and even this past week. Still, he's only 30 years old, and this is his first year as a play-caller. Mistakes are bound to happen. Sunday's win showed that he can bounce back from those mistakes, though.

Even beyond the last play, it was a much cleaner-called game from Doyle down the stretch. He involved Derrick Henry, had some nice design runs with Jackson, while balancing it out with ample passing plays that pressured a weakened Cowboys' secondary. Doyle was on point when he needed to be.

Getting back to the last play, it clearly shows that Doyle is made for big moments, and he has the perfect plays for when the game is on the line. In fact, Lamar noted after the game that they practiced "get down timeout situations, almost every day at training camp." Doyle was preparing the team for high-leverage situations, and it paid off in a big way on Sunday.

Hopefully, this game is a turning point for the Ravens' clutch-time problems. The players felt what it's like to close out a game and keep a lead, while the coaching staff got to work through some of their inexperience.

And if Doyle keeps working into a rhythm, there's a strong chance the Ravens will leave their late-game worries behind them.

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