For the first time all season, the Baltimore Ravens lost a game in a week in which everybody else in the AFC North won—yes, even the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns, though both of them needed comebacks to secure victory, the latter in overtime.
While that was a novel occurrence, the loss followed a familiar pattern for the Ravens, who have fallen short in the same way in each of their four losses on the season: they blew a substantial fourth-quarter lead. They led by nine with 13 minutes to go, and by seven with seconds to go. The Jacksonville Jaguars scored a touchdown and went for two and got it.
Let’s make this clear: the Ravens have lost four games this season in which they put up at least 20 points, including twice when scoring 27 or more. The Steelers have only scored that much once all season. It’s no surprise frustrations continue to mount for quarterback Lamar Jackson, who uncharacteristically lashed out at an obnoxious Twitter user after the game and used vulgar language in a since-deleted Tweet. Head coach John Harbaugh was asked to address that exchange yesterday.
“Really, you just beg guys not to get into the Twitter world right after the game, especially after a loss,” he told reporters via the team’s transcript on their website. “It’s never going to be positive. It’s not going to be a nice place. That’s kind of reflected in Lamar’s response, because what he said was just so out of character for him; that’s not the way he speaks, that’s not the way he talks, it’s not the words he ever uses.”
By and large, Harbaugh’s remarks ring true. Jackson certainly doesn’t have a reputation for being vulgar or rude or anything like that. He’s actually quite a likable guy overall, but at the end of the day, there’s only so much you can do to hold up your end of the bargain in a team game.
The Ravens actually posted a losing record last year when injuries finally caught up with them, including one to Jackson late in the season. There were signs of frustration then as well. Baltimore is largely having a very good season this year, but the fourth-quarter implosions by the defense have to be maddening for an offense that has had a multiple-possession lead in each loss.
“I’m sure he’s frustrated, just like we all are, and that’s just a place you just don’t want to live right after a game,” Harbaugh said regarding Jackson’s decision to hop on Twitter shortly after the game. “He’s also one of the biggest competitors I’ve ever met, so those kinds of conversations he takes very seriously. So, you get trapped sometimes by someone who’s baiting you just a little bit, and you can’t live there.”
Now, let me just say this. And brace yourself, because I’m going to use some colorful language. The person to whom Jackson was responding is an asshole. I don’t go out of my way to use profanity very often at all, but the type of people who feel the privilege to @ players because they’re not happy with the way they played in a particular game—that’s just the word for them. They’re assholes.
If you want to vent, vent, but don’t tag a player in your post as if what you say even matters in the first place. It signals that you’re looking for a reaction. Yes, players get paid a lot of money, but no part of their compensation is for taking abuse from nobodies who genuinely don’t know what they’re talking about, as if Jackson was to blame for the loss in the first place. What Jackson said was wrong, and he used an unfortunate choice of words. There’s no excusing that, but don’t attack people when they’re in a bad mood.
And yes, the guy’s Tweets are protected now. Not a great decision on either party’s part.
