It could be a silent flight back home for the Baltimore Ravens after they blew a 15-point lead and suffered a one-point loss to the Buffalo Bills, 41-40, at Highmark Stadium on Sunday.
It looked like the Ravens, spearheaded by an impressive showing from quarterback Lamar Jackson, were headed to the victory with a comfortable advantage, 40-25, with just a little over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Bills, however, went on an improbable surge to steal the win, highlighted by kicker Matt Prater's 32-yard field goal. It was his debut game for Buffalo after being signed to the practice squad just last week. They outscored the Ravens in the closing period, 22-6.
After Baltimore's loss, the Associated Press (AP)' Josh Dubow pointed out that coach John Harbaugh has now blown eight games despite holding a double-digit lead in the final quarter, the most by any coach over the last 10 seasons. He is followed by San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan with six games.
The 62-year-old Harbaugh, however, wasn't too concerned after the game.
“I’m disappointed, but we’ll be fine,” said Harbaugh, as quoted by the Baltimore Sun's Josh Tolentino.
The defeat spoiled the gallant stand by Jackson, who went 14-of-19 for 210 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 70 yards and another score.
Running back Derrick Henry also had a strong game with 169 yards and two touchdowns. He, however, committed a critical fumble on the Ravens' first-and-10 with only 3:06 left in the contest.
The 28-year-old Jackson, who's still looking for his first appearance in the Super Bowl, didn't offer excuses after facing the Bills.
“You just got to finish the game. It’s not over until there is zero, zero, zero on the clock. We found that out tonight,” said the two-time MVP in a separate report from AP.
Baltimore became the first team in NFL history to lose despite scoring at least 40 points and rushing for at least 235 yards.
The Ravens will look to bounce back against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.
