The Baltimore Ravens added yet another meltdown to their 2025 total on Sunday Night Football against the New England Patriots. Despite losing quarterback Lamar Jackson to a back injury early on, Baltimore held an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. By the end, the Ravens suffered an ugly 28-24 loss.
It was a complete back-breaking collapse. The offense made several excruciating mistakes, the defense ran out of gas, and the coaching was definitely questionable. There are countless players and areas that you can blame for the loss.
The decision to keep running back Derrick Henry off the field late in the contest has been getting the most blame, though, and rightfully so. On a potential game-winning drive with nine minutes to go, the Ravens opted to let backup running back Keaton Mitchell start the drive. He saw three carries. Henry, on the other hand? He did not get a single touch.
Former NFL wide receiver and current NBC broadcaster Cris Collinsworth did not hold back on Baltimore’s stunning decision. On-air, he said what every NFL fan watching the game was thinking.
“Do you think the Patriots have to send a thank you note to the Ravens for not putting Derrick Henry in the game for this drive?”
Yes Cris. Yes, they do.
Cris Collinsworth roasts Ravens’ coaching staff for shocking Derrick Henry decision
The Patriots could not stop Henry on Sunday. He answered the call after fumbling early on, finishing the night with 18 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Sure, Mitchell has started to break out in the past two weeks, but he had a troubling night, totaling nine carries for 13 yards.
While the plan was clearly to continue increasing Mitchell’s snap count, there are moments when you need to readjust your gameplan. Mitchell did not have it, and the team's second-to-last drive was one of those moments where they needed to shift their focus back to their superstar.
Most fans would call the lack of Henry usage a shocking decision, but nearly every Ravens fan could have told exactly how the final 10 minutes would play out before it even happened. The coaching staff is simply lost, and evidently, they have no idea how to close out games against playoff-caliber teams.
The lack of Henry's involvement was a heavy issue early in 2025, but it looked like by the bye week, Harbaugh and Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken figured out the obvious fix. However, they fell right back into the old ways in this epic collapse.
It is obviously a tough loss, but it could not have been more fitting. It has been a season full of ups and downs, headed by questionable coaching moves, and the team’s Week 16 loss was just another instance.