Should Harbaugh, Ravens have gone for it on fourth down vs. Bills?

If you were to ask a Ravens fan about their team’s record, they’d likely tell you the squad should be 4-0.

The flock — guided by its acrobatic QB Lamar Jackson — comfortably breezed past the two teams it’s collected wins against through Week 4: the New York Jets and New England Patriots. And it dominated its other two affairs as well, against the Miami Dolphins, and this past Sunday vs. Buffalo. 

At least that is, in the first half of those games.

As reality has it, the Ravens are currently 2-2. But after a pair of deflating losses in which the team held a double-digit lead at halftime, Baltimore’s coach is the man struggling to escape quicksand following several questionable calls. 

John Harbaugh’s long been a proponent of going for it on fourth down, and exercised that habit again late in the fourth quarter of a 20-20 deadlock with the Bills. His risk yielded the worst possible outcome: A red zone interception, which Buffalo turned into a game-winning field goal minutes later. Harbaugh though, stood by his decision to try for six after the game.

“I felt like it gave us the best chance to win the game because [with] seven [points], the worst that happens is if they go down the field and score — and I think we’ll get them stopped — but if they go down the field and score a touchdown, the worst thing that can happen is you’re in overtime,” he reflected.

On Monday “Undisputed” host Shannon Sharpe vehemently disagreed with his choice.

“[He] absolutely [should’ve] gone for the field goal,” Sharpe criticized. “That decision cost them the game, and I want to know how many more times you’re going to keep going for it on fourth down. You did that twice against Miami and it came back to bite you in your butt.

“Let me tell you from the perspective as a player: It is so deflating to have a 14-play, 93-yard drive, and it eats up so much of the clock, and we have nothing to show for it. I’m kicking the field goal. … You throw an INT in the end zone, and they start the ball at the 20. You hadn’t scored since the second quarter. The thing that you needed at that moment was points, and you didn’t get it. … It’s unacceptable. You’ve got to take the points in that situation, and let the chips fall where they may. … His defense is saying, ‘Damn, you’ve got no confidence in us.'”

Sharpe’s cohost opted for the other side of the coin. 

“I loved what John Harbaugh did because I love Lamar Jackson,” Skip Bayless said. “I believe in Lamar Jackson. You can’t have it both ways.”

“Analytics will tell you [that] you should go for it,” Bayless added. “It’s Lamar Jackson. It’s two yards to potentially win the game, or at least ensure overtime. Every time, I’m not even blinking. They did not blink, they didn’t call timeout, they said go. … The defense was collapsing again. It was 20-3 home team late in the second quarter … and from that point on, they were outscored 20-0.”

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