The Baltimore Ravens suffered a 24-22 loss at the hands of the Cleveland Browns in Week 14 of the 2021 season. It was a game that looked like something out of a horror movie at first for Baltimore, as they lost star quarterback Lamar Jackson and star defensive tackle Calais Campbell very early on in the contest, with neither returning.
The Ravens then had to turn to backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, who finished the contest completing 27-of-38 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown while also losing two fumbles. He almost led Baltimore to an impressive comeback, but fell just a bit short.
On defense, the Ravens were giving up a few big plays early and let up 24 points in the first half, but shut out Cleveland’s offense in the second half and allowed their offense to get back into the game. While they didn’t have as good of a game defending the run as they did in Week 12, they still held the Browns to 3.6 yards per carry in Week 14, which is a very solid number.
Despite having almost everything go against them in the first half, Baltimore never gave up and rallied to almost pull off one of the greater comebacks in team history. One of the key decisions of the game came with about nine minutes left to go in the contest after the Ravens scored a touchdown to narrow their deficit to nine points. Head coach John Harbaugh elected to go for two points to only need seven points to tie instead of eight. However, the try failed, which meant the team was still down by two possessions.
Baltimore struggled on third down, going just 1-for-12 (8.3%). On the other hand, Cleveland found success on third down with a 6-for-13 (46.1%) mark. That’s one area to look at in a close loss, but missed opportunities, penalties, questionable play calling and turnovers are also key storylines in the game.
The Ravens will now head back home to face Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and the Green Bay Packers in Week 15.