BALTIMORE, Maryland, Monday, December 26, 2016 - Already in Baltimore there are calls for firings and trades and all manner of radical changes for the Ravens, less than 24 hours after a gut-wrenching and narrow defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The loss, by a score of 31-27, eliminates the Ravens from playoff contention and clinches a spot in the playoffs for the Steelers.
Unlike many other Raven games this season, Baltimore did not attempt to come from behind late in the game. Instead, they had the lead for the better part of the game, and then, after a big Steeler comeback put Pittsburgh in front in the last minutes, the Ravens marched down the field like champions and scored again with barely over a minute left.
But the Steelers marched right back down the field and scored with 4 seconds left to win. The winning play was made by Anthony Brown, the All-Pro receiver, who threw caution to the wind and ran a pass pattern short of the end zone, even though his team was completely out of time-outs.. Had he been tackled on the field of play without crossing the goal line - something that very nearly happened - the Steelers would have lost the game and, quite possibly, the season. Instead, Brown caught the Ben Roethlisberger pass near the Raven one-yard-line, and was immediately confronted and wrapped up by at least two Raven defenders. In the struggle that followed, Brown threw out his arm and hand holding the ball and, according to game officials, managed to break the plane of the goal line. This counts as a touchdown, and it gave the black and yellow-clad Steelers the win. That's what the officials said. As an admitted Raven fan, that is as far as I am willing to go.
The Pittsburgh win overshadowed an outstanding performance by the Raven offense, which, in front of a sell-out crowd of over 66,000 Pittsburgh fans, took a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter, then marched down the field and scored a touchdown with just over one minute left to take the lead back from the Steelers. Joe Flacco threw for 262 yards and a touchdown, and was cool under pressure in rallying the Ravens late in the game. Steve Smith had seven catches for 79 yards and a touchdown, and was spectacular throughout the game. All of the Ravens running backs made big plays. Kenneth Dixon was spectacular in breaking tackles, carrying tacklers on his back and finding holes when there were none. Terrence West also played well and made several huge catches as well. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk also made big catches and broke several tackles while running for what should have been the winning touchdown in the final minutes. Finally, Michael Campanaro only touched the ball once on a play from scrimmage, but gained 23 yards on that rush, showing stunning speed and elusiveness.
So what to do going forward? Stay with the program. At least, that is what this fan says. The improvement from last year to this year was huge. Last season the Ravens were bad at 5-11. This season they came within an eyelash of making the playoffs. Several young players made big improvements as the season moved along, including No. 1 draft pick Ronnie Stanley, the offensive tackle, Dixon, Juszczyk, wide receiver and kick returner Chris Moore, corner back Tavon Young, receiver Breshad Perriman, defensive tackle Michael Pierce and tight ends Nick Boyle and Darren Waller.
On the other hand, some long-time vets did not finish strongly. Here, I include Elvis Dumervil, the outside linebacker/pass rusher and Linebacker Albert McClellan. I do not include Terrell Suggs or Ladarius Webb, both of whom performed well down the stretch.
It isn't an easy call for the coaching staff. Going into the season there was a temptation to believe that last year was an aberration, not something that needed several seasons to recover from. Now, the coaching staff is hoping that Team Owner Steve Bisciotti buys into the latter plan.
Andre Gray Scores Late as Burnley Defeats Middlesbrough, 1-0, at Turf Moor
It was Boxing Day at Turf Moor, and some 21,562 fans packed into the cozy stadium to see two old rivals have at it. What the match lacked in finesse it made up for in grit and effort, and in the end it was a bullet off the foot of Andre Gray that forced its way through the grasp of former Barcelona Keeper Victor Valdes that made the difference in the game.
The three points that Burnley picked up with the win puts the Claret six points clear of relegation land and sets the stage for an important match next week against Sunderland, one of the three teams currently in relegation zone. The match will be at Turf Moor.
The thinking is that 40 points is what you need to avoid relegation from the Premier. The Claret are halfway there and it is only Boxing Day. Things are looking up for Burnley.
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