How 3 NFL teams gave away games on Sunday

#1 Ravens-Browns

And finally, we get to one of the worst games of the week. I don’t mean that in a way that it wasn’t great to watch – it was highly entertaining, but I was cringing time and time again when I saw how many opportunities the Ravens had to win this game and they just never came through. The Browns had their two first-round picks – Baker Mayfield and Denzel Ward – come up with huge plays at crucial moments, but even then this win was to be had.

This was a defensive battle all the way through, as the Ravens sacked Baker Mayfield five times and were in the backfield constantly, while Joe Flacco struggled to defeat the Browns’ tight man-coverage for the most part.

However, Baltimore got a huge gift early on as the home team was set up with 3rd & 5 and Baker threw his only interception.

I solely put this on Rashard Higgins, who releases outside and then comes back underneath the cornerback on an in-cut, but even though he has a step on Tavon Young he decides to turn it upfield for some reason and the Ravens defender lunges for the pick.

After the next three drives of the game ended in punts, the Ravens instigate a clever drive featuring jet sweep fakes, play-action and even some Lamar Jackson, an illegal use of the hands penalty puts the visitors into first-and-goal from their own two.

A power run by Buck Allen to the left after a sweep fake to Jackson is stuffed, so on second down the Ravens come out in an ace right set with Snead coming off a short motion. They go play-action with a zone-split fake that has Nick Boyle releasing into the flats, Snead running an out-route and Crabtree coming from the opposite side on a crosser.

Emmanuel Ogbah stays home on the boot-side however and is in Flacco’s face immediately who tries to squeeze in the ball to Boyle even though the corner is still down in the flats. He needed to either give Crabtree a chance at the back-line with a high pass or just throw it out of the end-zone because that right side was done.

Instead Ogbah bats it up and Ward cuts underneath the tight-end for the pick. It was a great play by the rookie, but a bad mistake by a veteran to even attempt that throw.

Over the next 13 plays, we see two punts from each team before the Browns finally get something going offensively. They run a trick play with Baker Mayfield faking a high snap and Duke Johnson running a sweep to the right off a direct snap and hit a beautiful seam route to David Njoku in-between the safeties out of a two-by-two set with the ball placed to his back-side to brace him from a hit.

They finish the drive by coming out in a tight bunch to the right with the inside receivers running in-routes on different levels and Higging releasing outside before breaking back to the post with Marlon Humphrey getting turned around a little. Yet, they miss the PAT.

With 40 seconds left in the half, the Ravens drive down to the Cleveland 30 with Crabtree dragging across the field and the opposite side being cleared out, Snead running an in-route out of the slot of a trips set with tight-end Mark Andrews clearing the underneath coverage with a seam route.

That sets up Tucker for what is an easy three points for him to equal the score at six. However, the Browns rookie cornerback makes another huge play by perfectly executing four strides and a stretch of every last inch to block the field goal.

After the Ravens D forces a three-and-out to start the second half, Baltimore converts on a crucial third down, but follow that up with a Buck Allen fumble after catching an angle route. Their defence has held again and even though a huge inside fade to Rashard Higging sets Cleveland up at the opposing six-yard line, Baltimore can hold them to a field goal following a big sack.

When they take back over they move the ball all the way inside the opposing ten and they come in an empty set on third-and-three. They have trips to the right and run a levels concepts with Crabtree breaking inside deep.

The safety and linebacker to that side bracket Brown underneath as the third receiver, so Flacco goes to Crabtree who is matched up against Ward and tries to fit the ball in front of the middle safety. He puts it a little high and late, Ward gets a hand in there and Baltimore now has six points on two red-zone drives.

Out of the next 22 plays, we see five punts, but there is one play I want to point out to show another opportunity the Ravens had to get into the end-zone. On 3rd & 13 from their own 22-yard line, the Browns come out in trips left and motion the outside receiver into a stack behind Callaway.

The rookie stretches the field vertically with a fade and the tight-end runs a hook route, while Jarvis Landry comes across the field on a drag from the opposite side. They do that to open up Derrick Willies on a deep crosser. The Ravens hybrid linebacker Anthony Levine feels it happening behind him, redirects and high-points the pass, but just can’t bring it in. If he grabs that one he definitely takes it back to the house.

With that being said, Baltimore gets the ball back with four-and-a-half minutes on a punt. They originally return it past mid-field but an illegal block above the waist moves them back to their own 34. A back-shoulder fade to Crabtree isolated in the slot, angle route to Allen and once again one of those Snead in-routes underneath a tight-end going down the seams take them to Cleveland’s 14.

On third down, they come out in an empty set against the Browns’ two-high safety look. They have fades on the outside, a seam and the deep-in route by the number two and three on the trips side and Crabtree splitting the safeties on a post from the slot. As long as that safety doesn’t read it perfectly and undercuts it that should have been the deciding touchdown, but Crabtree drops the high pass and the Ravens are forced to settle for a field goal to tie the game at nine.

Less than a minute left in regulation, the Browns get the ball back and get themselves into scoring range with a slant to Njoku split out wide and a crosser by Landry, who takes it to Baltimore’s 37. They can’t connect on any of their passes and miss a potential game-winning field goal.

The home team receives the ball first in overtime, but get sent off the field immediately and Baltimore has a chance to win the game with any score. After a completion to Crabtree on an out-route and a lead power run by Collins, the Ravens get to 3rd & 4 but get a 20-yard gain from Chris Moore on a slant route. The very next play they come out in ace right with a weak I-formation. They run a misdirection dive with Collins and he goes all the way to the Cleveland 36, which should basically already put them in field-goal range. However, a block in the back by Moore, who just made the big play, as he is coming back inside on the cornerback negates the run. The receiver simply needed to stand in the way and let the defender run through him to allow Collins to bounce outside, but that way they are back inside their own territory and ultimately punt it back.

With that being said, the Browns take over from their own 13 and get a huge chunk play as the Ravens leave Landry wide open in the flats coming out of the backfield. A roughing the passer penalty adds 15 yards to the 41-yard catch-and-run and the one-win team is in business. Yet, a rub route slant to Callaway for five yards, they go with three straight incompletions set up the Ravens from their own 39. Baltimore needs like 20 yards to put the greatest kicker in NFL history in position to win the game, but these are the three plays they call:

1st down – Once again they run that in-route by the slot with the tight-end going vertical, which the Browns have just seen too many times to still allow, so Flacco tries to check the ball down to his back, but it is knocked down by Genard Avery.

2nd down – A back-shoulder fade to John Brown versus cover-one matched up against Ward, who has been making plays on the ball all game long.

And 3rd down They want to hit Crabtree on a crosser out of a tight bunch with the other two receivers clearing space and the Hurst from the opposite side running a crosser himself out of the slot. Flacco pulls it down for some reason and they punt again.

Cleveland now starts at their own 15. They call a reverse with Duke Johnson pitching the ball to Rod Streater who is touching it for the first time all season, but Matt Judon runs it down for minus 11 yards. That’s when I thought Baltimore got screwed a little as Terrell Suggs is clearly held by David Njoku coming across on a zone-split fake, which should have resulted in a safety and ended the game. Instead, Mayfield scrambles for 13 and that’s when he makes the play of the game.

The Browns motion into a tight bunch and after buying some time he hits undrafted free agent Derrick Willies on an in-route, who runs it all the way to the opposing 43. Duke Johnson basically seals it with a 15-yard run and Greg Joseph converts on the ugliest kick I might have ever seen, which looks like it was tipped since it didn’t rotate whatsoever.

The Browns have a phenomenal young signal-caller and their coaches still decided to take it out of his hands on several crucial downs, like when they were pinned inside their own ten and ran it three straight times out of an I-formation.

Their head coach signalled to his team that there were two seconds left on the clock after hitting the winning field goal in overtime. The Ravens had multiple opportunities to make plays in the end-zone and should have been in range for the game-hitter if it wasn’t for a stupid blocking penalty.

On the other hand, Cleveland was inside Baltimore’s 35 just twice all game long until that game-winner and the ferocious Ravens D made got the ball back for their offence 12(!) times.

There were multiple opportunities to take this game in their hands and seal the deal, but it was Flacco missing easy passes, receivers as well as defenders dropping balls and very questionable play-calling at the end that gave the Browns just their third win over the divisional rivals in their last 21 meetings.