Ravens vs. Bills: John Harbaugh defends decision to go for touchdown

The Baltimore Ravens suffered a close-call loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The game was tied at 20-20 with 4.15 minutes left in the last quarter. Instead of going for a field goal, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh decided to attempt a win through a touchdown.

While many of his players, including tight end Mark Andrews, defended his decision, others were not very fond of it. Cornerback Marcus Peters was visibly upset and expressed his dismay by slamming his helmet on the ground before leaving the field.

“I felt like it gave us the best chance to win the game because 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,” Harbaugh said after the game.

The ESPN probability model agreed with Harbaugh. The Ravens had a 3,8 percent more chance of winning through a touchdown than a field goal. Unfortunately, the execution was not as expected. As soon as Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson had the ball, the audience could clearly see that Devin Duvernay was wide open.

Had Jackson made the pass, the Ravens would have most likely won. However, it was intercepted by the Bills’ Jordan Poyer instead, after which Tyler Bass secured the win through a field goal, ending the game at 23-20.

The Ravens will play their next game on Sunday, October 9, against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium. After the loss, Andrews assured the media that Harbaugh and his squad would return stronger for the matchup.

“I’m a dog. We have a bunch of dogs. We’re ready to go. We are going to get better. We’ve been here before,” he said.