The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Denver Broncos 23-7 in Week 4 of the 2021 season. After a sloppy first quarter, Baltimore regained their composure and dominated on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, putting together an overall solid performance.
Despite the win, the Ravens’ didn’t escape Denver without some controversy. On the final play of the game, Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh decided to run the ball instead of taking a knee, as he wanted his team to tie the all-time record of consecutive 100-yard rushing games. The Broncos didn’t take too kindly to Harbaugh’s decision, with head coach Vic Fangio offering an NSFW response when asked about it. (Warning: NSFW)
Vic Fangio on the #Ravens running the ball instead of kneeling so they could secure a 100 yards rushing for the 43rd straight game: "I thought it was kind of bullsh*t but I expected it from them. That's their mode of operation. Player safety is secondary." pic.twitter.com/190rRdHa54
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 4, 2021
Fangio has taken a lot of heat for his remarks, especially when it comes to player safety. There’s nothing at all to indicate that Baltimore doesn’t care about player safety. They simply ran a five yard play to tie a record, not throw a Hail Mary in an attempt to score. Many have said that if Fangio and Denver didn’t like it, they should have either stopped it or have done enough to win the game in the first place. There will always be unwritten rules in sports, and Fangio is not happy that the Ravens broke one of them.