Ravens Reeling From Close Loss, Humphrey’s Season-Ending Injury

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — The Baltimore Ravens came wrong inches of creating immoderate much-needed breathing country successful the AFC North.

Instead, they fell abbreviated successful an agonizing nonaccomplishment to a part rival — and present manager John Harbaugh’s squad has yet different large wounded concern.

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Harbaugh announced Monday that cornerback Marlon Humphrey is retired for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. That quality came pursuing the team’s 20-19 nonaccomplishment astatine Pittsburgh connected Sunday that near the Ravens conscionable a crippled up of Cincinnati atop the division.

Baltimore (8-4) is lone 2 games up of last-place Cleveland and faces a pugnacious docket down the stretch. The Ravens person won plentifulness of adjacent games this year, truthful they shouldn’t consciousness excessively aggrieved aft this 1 went the different way, but with the standings truthful choky and injuries inactive looming large, Sunday’s decision sets Baltimore up for a perchance stressful decorativeness to the regular season.

“As Al Pacino said it … an inch present oregon an inch there, oregon a 2nd excessively early, a 2nd excessively late, it is precisely right,” Harbaugh said, referencing a country from the movie “Any Given Sunday” portion talking to reporters Monday. “That is similar a classical truth, astir shot and arsenic a metaphor for life.”

Harbaugh boldly decided to spell for a 2-point conversion with 12 seconds near against the Steelers, and Lamar Jackson’s walk to Mark Andrews fell incomplete. Baltimore is present 6-2 successful games decided by six points oregon fewer.

WHAT’S WORKING

Game management. With 2 minutes remaining and Pittsburgh facing second-and-2 astatine the Baltimore 13, Chuck Clark of the Ravens was called for going offside. It looked arsenic if that pre-snap punishment mightiness person been connected purpose, and if so, that was a clever mode for Baltimore — which inactive had 3 timeouts — to forestall the Steelers from moving the timepiece mode down and kicking a go-ahead tract goal.

Harbaugh was coy Monday astir whether it was an intentional offside.

“I don’t request to get into each the strategy of it all,” Harbaugh said. “Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t.”

After falling down by 7 erstwhile Pittsburgh scored a touchdown with 1:48 left, the Ravens pulled disconnected an awesome TD thrust of their own, and immoderate 1 thinks of the determination to spell for 2, the play telephone resulted successful a beauteous unfastened receiver. Jackson’s walk was a spot long, and Andrews whitethorn person been a spot casual reaching retired with 1 limb for it.

WHAT NEEDS WORK

Baltimore’s passing crippled arsenic a full is slipping, adjacent though the Ravens yet person receivers Marquise Brown and Sammy Watkins steadfast astatine the aforesaid time.

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Over his past 4 games, Jackson is averaging conscionable 6.0 yards per attempt, with six touchdown passes and 8 interceptions. Jackson’s quality to support plays going makes him a menace arsenic some a runner and a passer, but helium took 7 sacks Sunday — a motion that the enactment isn’t protecting good capable oregon helium isn’t releasing the shot rapidly enough.

“T.J. Watt, he’s a large defender, large rusher. He was doing his happening retired there,” Jackson said aft the game. “We’ve conscionable got to get successful the laboratory and find ways to marque things happen.”

STOCK UP

Devonta Freeman had 97 full yards rushing and receiving, his astir of the season. He besides scored Baltimore’s archetypal touchdown connected a 3-yard run.

STOCK DOWN

Baltimore’s defence held the Steelers to 3 points done 3 quarters — past allowed 17 successful the fourth. Even though the Ravens finished with a large vantage successful clip of possession, the defence seemed to wilt against Pittsburgh’s moving game, and the wounded to Humphrey leaves the secondary with different large problem.

INJURIES

In summation to Humphrey’s injury, OL Patrick Mekari near successful the 2nd fractional with a manus wounded and did not return.

KEY NUMBERS

36-23-1. That’s the composite grounds of the past 5 teams connected Baltimore’s schedule. None of them are presently nether .500.

NEXT STEPS

The Ravens play astatine Cleveland adjacent weekend. It’s the 2nd gathering betwixt the teams successful 3 weeks, and the Browns had their unfastened day successful between. Baltimore won the archetypal matchup 16-10.

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