The Baltimore Ravens defeated the rival Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night, 35-34, after the defense kept Joe Burrow and Tanner Hudson out of the end zone when Cincinnati decided to go for two and the win with 38 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
While the game was virtually over following Mark Andrews‘ onside kick recovery, unfortunately, it wasn’t. Lamar Jackson had to take a knee on first-and-10 to make the victory official.
This was a costly knee, as it took the Ravens’ rushing total down from 100 yards to 99 yards. The Ravens had gone 42 straight games with 100 rushing yards, and needed 100 rushing yards on Thursday night to tie the longest streak all-time.
Perhaps John Harbaugh learned his lesson from what happened in 2021, when the Ravens rushed on the final play of the game vs. the Denver Broncos to cross 100 rushing yards for the 43rd straight time. Broncos head coach Vic Fangio absolutely FLIPPED HIS LID.
“I thought it was kinda bullshit, but I expected it from them,” Fangio told reporters afterwards. “37 years in pro ball I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Fangio said he expected it because he knew how Harbaugh and Co. “operate.” He also said that for the Ravens, player safety is secondary. Harbaugh was surprised to hear Fangio’s comments.
“I thought we were on good terms,” Harbaugh said, via The Athletic. “We had a nice chat before the game. But I promise you, I’m not going to give that insult one second of thought. What’s meaningful to us is not necessarily meaningful to them.”
The Ravens were unable to make NFL history the following week, as Carson Wentz’s Indianapolis Colts held Baltimore to just 86 yards rushing. Somewhere, I’m sure, Fangio was celebrating.
The Ravens are better off focusing on winning a Super Bowl instead of setting rushing records, but it’s notable that a Jackson kneeldown ruined Baltimore’s impressive streak.