The Baltimore Ravens have been through their fair share of wild and crazy finishes over the course of their franchise history. However, there might not be a more intense end to a game than when Baltimore played the Minnesota Vikings in 2013.
Since the Ravens are set to take on the Vikings this week, head coach John Harbaugh was asked what he remembered from the crazy game with Minnesota all those years ago, and painted a very detailed picture of just what it was like from his point of view. Harbaugh ran through some of the final plays like they had happened yesterday.
“I remember it was colder than this. I remember [we were] in a dog fight. [Former Minnesota Vikings head coach] Leslie Frazier was the coach; a good friend. It was a really good football game. I remember getting the lead with like two minutes left and thinking it was OK. Then, all of a sudden, the field looked like an ice rink. All of a sudden, our guys are sliding around [and] we couldn’t tackle. I remember, they hit a … I think they hit a screen pass that went for a touchdown, and then we came back and might have hit a kick return that went for a touchdown. I remember Jacoby Jones … So, I’m on the sideline right here, and we had a play set up where we could tell when they’re going to pooch kick it to our left short. We had a sideline return set up for Jacoby [Jones] to come up and catch it short. We thought we could really hit it on them. So, it comes up, and he had to change … He had to get over there so he could catch it, bottom line. I look down there, I was like, ‘Oh, it’s there. It’s there.’ I look down there, and I see Jacoby, and he’s like in the far corner looking up in the stands. He told me later he was talking to his mom. (laughter) … So, I’m like, ‘Jacoby! Jacoby! Jacoby! Jacoby!’ He looks over, and he goes, (makes a shocked face). He starts running over full speed. And if you remember, running full speed, catches it on the run and houses it. ‘Ah, we won.’ Then Toby Gerhart, who played for my brother at Stanford, he hits a little draw up the middle. I was like, ‘Ah, it’s a touchdown. They won.’ You know what I mean? They’re celebrating over there, and we have like 20 or 30 seconds left. Next thing you know, we hit a couple passes, and then we’re in the red zone. There’s one play left. Joe [Flacco] moves around and throws it up high to Marlon [Brown], and he makes a good catch, gets his feet down in bounds, and then [I said], ‘We won!’ So, five teams won that day, but we won the last time, and that’s the one that counted the most.” (laughter) (Reporter: “Did you just watch the highlights?”)“It’s ingrained. It’s ingrained in my mind, man.”(laughter).
The whole story that Harbaugh tells shows just how wacky the game got in the final two minutes, as there were four total touchdowns scored in that period. Baltimore ended up wining the game 29-26, but not before chaos ensued time and time again in the final moments of the contest.