If there was one player in the NFL that you would have bet your life on picking up a first down when facing a fourth-and-three, it’s likely Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
But against the Buffalo Bills, the Ravens were faced with a decision that ultimately ended up likely costing them the game, not Derrick Henry’s fumble.
With the Bills having all the momentum, Baltimore was facing a fourth-and-three with a chance to end the game and not give the ball back to Josh Allen, but head coach John Harbaugh decided to give No. 17 the ball.
Why? Well, Jackson has revealed why that decision was made.
“I was cramping,” Jackson said. “So that’s why I pretty much jogged out the field because if I wasn’t, everybody here know I would have been trying to go for fourth-and-three.”
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The interesting thing about Jackson’s comments is that the Ravens still had timeouts in their back pockets, so with Lamar cramping, why not take a timeout, gather yourself, and then go win the game?
Of course, it is easy to say that now, but it does feel like the common-sense thing to do.
The last thing the Ravens would have wanted to do was to hand the ball back to Allen, who threw for over 250 yards in the fourth quarter alone, but that’s exactly what happened.
Should the Ravens have gone for it on fourth down? Hindsight says absolutely, and given the type of player Lamar is, you would nearly bet your house on him picking up a first down, too.
And that makes the decision to give the ball back to Allen even more baffling.
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