DeAndre Hopkins reopens Ravens' painful 2025 wound with subtle coaching critique

The Baltimore Ravens have turned over a new leaf this offseason. They called it quits on the John Harbaugh era, firing the 18-year head coach and hiring 42-year-old Jesse Minter to replace him. They’ve made it clear that they’re not going to be content with falling short.

Still, it’s hard not to think about what could've been in 2025. The AFC was WIDE open, and they fell short in Week 18 in the final seconds. It came down to a missed kick that allowed their bitter rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, to sneak into the playoffs. It goes beyond that kick, though.

Recently, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins reopened that wound. He spoke about how the team felt after that 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh. He admitted that while it was stunning to see Tyler Loop miss that field goal attempt, they left a lot on the table, including the coaching staff, when it came to their decisions down the stretch.

“Really, it shouldn’t have gotten down to depending on [Tyler Loop] to kick a 40-yarder…As players, we felt like we should’ve just kept handing the ball off to Derrick [Henry], and let him try to go score,” Hopkins said. “Us as players, we feel like they didn’t trust us to go score.”

See his full response below.

DeAndre Hopkins opens up on Baltimore Ravens’ tough end to 2025

There are a lot of heads to blame for that tragic loss that ended Baltimore’s 2025 season. Obviously, that’s a kick Loop needs to make, but the defense certainly deserves its share of the blame, too. More than potentially anyone, though, the coaching staff fell short in ways they did all year. They simply didn't learn from their mistakes.

On offense, they started out hot and fell flat throughout most of the game. On defense, they weren’t able to come up with the stops when they mattered most.

In that final possession that Hopkins was referring to, the playcalling got soft. They may not have had a chance to put the ball in the end zone (there were only 14 seconds left when tight end Isaiah Likely made that catch), but they at least had enough time to get Loop in a more comfortable position. Even if it was just a three to four-yard gain, that would’ve mattered. The decision maker, whether that be John Harbaugh, Todd Monken, or both, failed Loop and the rest of the team in that moment.

While Hopkins brings up a painful memory, it serves as proof that the Ravens made the right decision by kicking off a new coaching regime. The players were clearly unhappy with how the year ended, and new leadership was needed to get this group headed back in the right direction. It looks like they’ve headed that way with what we’ve seen so far this offseason.