Justin Tucker's leg couldn't save Ravens this time
The Baltimore Ravens finally left Justin Tucker with too much to do.
After making four field goals, including one from 55 yards, Tucker came up short from 67 on the final play of a 28-27 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The defeat stopped Baltimore's four-game winning streak — and it also ended a much longer run by Tucker himself.
The star kicker had made 65 consecutive field goal attempts in the fourth quarter and overtime. This was a particularly harsh way to end that streak.
"It's heartbreaking to me at this point," said Tucker, who won a game at Detroit with a record-breaking 66-yard kick last year. "Especially when it's a kick that I know I have the ability to make."
Baltimore's schedule sets up favorably for the rest of the season, but this past weekend was a reminder that anything can happen on an NFL Sunday. The Ravens lost at Jacksonville and Cincinnati won at AFC South-leading Tennessee. Those results dropped Baltimore into a first-place tie with the Bengals in the AFC North.
"It's a tough loss on the road. It happens in this league," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "We're not going to downplay it. It matters. It's important. It's a win we could have used."
This was the first time all season the Ravens (7-4) didn't have a double-digit lead at some point in a game. They were ahead 19-10 early in the fourth quarter, but allowed 18 points in the final 5:55. A touchdown and 2-point conversion with 14 seconds remaining gave the Jaguars their final margin of victory, and Tucker couldn't save his team this time.
WHAT'S WORKING
Baltimore's defensive front was solid again, allowing only 38 yards rushing. The Ravens also had four sacks.
Calais Campbell produced the 99th sack of his career, and he now has at least a half-sack in five straight games. He was back in Jacksonville after playing three seasons with the Jaguars from 2017-19.
"I had a lot of success here and had a lot of fun here, but, I mean, I'm trying to stay in the moment, stay present," Campbell said after the game. "This will always be part of my history, but this team, where we are right now as the Baltimore Ravens, we felt like we let one off the hook."
WHAT NEEDS WORK
After scoring only 13 points the previous week in a win over Carolina, the Ravens were kept out of the end zone until the fourth quarter at Jacksonville. Of Tucker's four field goals, three were from inside 30 yards. Change even one of those red zone trips to a touchdown and the final outcome is probably different.
STOCK UP
Lamar Jackson connected on passes of 40 yards to Josh Oliver and 62 to DeSean Jackson, the latter of which led to the touchdown that put Baltimore up 27-20. The Ravens haven't had too many big plays in the passing game this year, so those two were a step in the right direction.
STOCK DOWN
Baltimore has a plus-8 turnover margin on the season, but the Ravens were minus-1 in that department Sunday. They lost two fumbles, the second of which gave Jacksonville the ball at the Baltimore 16 when the Jaguars trailed 19-17.
It was reminiscent of a loss to the New York Giants last month, when Baltimore turned the ball over twice late in the game.
INJURIES
Harbaugh said RB J.K. Dobbins (knee) is expected to practice this week. He hasn't played since Oct. 16.
KEY NUMBER
7 — The number of times the Ravens have been flagged this season for delay of game, the most of any team in the league. It happened again on Baltimore's first possession against Jacksonville as the Ravens stalled in the red zone.
And the number of penalties doesn't account for how many times Baltimore has looked rushed with the play clock running low.
"I'm not sure exactly what was going on with the clock. It felt different," Harbaugh said. "The 40-second clock was fine, the 25-second clock was, man, that was quick. Still, it's on us. We did a lot of substituting in the first half. We were in a little more complicated plays and formations a little bit, in terms of shifting."
NEXT STEPS
The Ravens have a good chance to move back ahead of Cincinnati. Baltimore hosts Denver (3-8) next weekend, while the Bengals face AFC-leading Kansas City.
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