The Baltimore Ravens have long struggled closing out games, especially ones where they have big leads. It has not changed in 2025, as they lost 41-40 to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 after holding a 15-point advantage late in the fourth quarter.
Fans are not surprised whatsoever, as these struggles have been a common theme of the John Harbaugh era. However, with possibly the most talented roster in the NFL, the rumblings from the fanbase were much louder.
Harbaugh addressed the late-game meltdowns in his press conference on Monday. He did not shy away from the fact that the inability to close out games consistently dooms the team, but he really just stated the obvious.
“Maybe part of it’s the fact that we’ve been ahead a lot. We’ve won a lot of games. We’ve had a lot of two-score leads. So we’ve kept a lot of those, but I think we’ve lost six of them. That’s too many. I don’t care how many two-score leads you have,” Harbaugh said. “I do believe that we need to be really thoughtful of how we decide to approach those situations moving forward…It becomes a game-scenario that we need to be really intentional about going forward.”
John Harbaugh states the obvious on Ravens' late meltdowns
It’s pretty clear what the issue has been over the past several seasons. Baltimore always eases their foot off the gas pedal a little too much.
Defensively, the Ravens operated in Cover 6 in most of the fourth quarter, which allowed Buffalo to drive down the field on chunk plays on three straight drives. And Josh Allen and company did not have to change their approach, given how the defense was playing them.
Offensively, it was once again the same lackluster approach with a big lead. The unit got conservative, backed away from the creativity that makes the Ravens’ offense the best in the NFL, and failed to move the chains and put the nail in the coffin.
Some blame deserves to be placed upon offensive coordinator Todd Monken and defensive coordinator Zach Orr. However, these meltdowns have been occurring long before either Monken or Orr took over their respective units. It’s tough to ignore the elephant in the room, that being Harbaugh. Until he takes accountability and changes things, he is on the hot seat.
Since 2008, when Harbaugh took over, the Ravens have blown the most fourth-quarter leads in the NFL. The issue should have been addressed long ago; it should have been addressed last year when the team blew leads to the likes of the Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns, and in 2025, we are still discussing the same old issue. Until Baltimore proves they can step it up in the fourth quarter, they cannot be taken seriously as a contender. Maybe that changes in Week 2 against the Browns.