'I should be the guy': Ravens' JK Dobbins frustrated with role in playoff loss in Cincinnati
BALTIMORE - Ravens running back J.K. Dobbins is not holding back his feelings.
The former second round draft pick from Ohio State is upset with the way the offense is using him.
Dobbins carried the football 13 times for 62 yards, at an average of nearly five yards per carry, the Baltimore's 24-17 loss in Cincinnati Sunday in the Wild Card game.
Lest his comments be construed as selfish or braggadocios, I’d suggest @Jkdobbins22 speaks as a fiery competitor who desperately wants his team to win & is their best weapon in that situation. You want that, right? 🏈🐂#ElToro @wjz @WJZ13sports pic.twitter.com/dOirWVlfrv
— Mark Viviano (@MarkWJZ) January 16, 2023
He also only touched the ball once inside the red zone - a two-yard touchdown catch in he second quarter.
Dobbins said he should have gotten more attempts, especially in the fourth quarter when the Ravens had the ball at Cincinnati's 2-yard line.
"I should be the guy. I'm tired of holding that back," Dobbins said. "It's the playoff. Let's go win that game. I'm tired of holding back on that."
The Ravens had a chance to build a fourth-quarter lead on Sunday but backup quarterback Tyler Huntley tried to hurdle the pile from the 2-yard line to reach the end zone, but was stripped and fumbled.
Bengals' Sam Hubbard returned the ball 98 yards for the eventual game-winning touchdown.
Dobbins felt he should have had a chance in that situation.
"I'm a playmaker. I am guy that my teammates feed off me when I am on the field," he said. "I should be out there all the time."
Dobbins didn't get one carry on that game-changing drive.
He said he was confident he would have scored if given the chance.
Instead, it was a quarterback keeper for Huntley, who was once again playing for injured Lamar Jackson.
"He should have never been in that situation," Dobbins said of Huntley. "I don't get a single carry. I didn't get a single carry. He should never have been in that situation. I believe I would have put it in the end zone, again."
Since Dobbins returned from his torn ACL recovery in Week 14, he had two 100 yard games, in those games, the most carries he had in a game was 17.
"I'm a guy who feels like I should be on the field all the time," Dobbins said. "It's the playoffs. Why am I not out there?"
Dobbins also said that if Jackson was on there, the Ravens would have won.
Instead, Jackson didn't even travel with his team and the Ravens are moving into the offseason.
"If we'd have had Lamar, we'd have won too," Dobbins said.