The Ravens’ overtime win over the Falcons turned into a showcase of clock control, leg strength and one more reminder that Zay Flowers is doing star-wideout things on a snap-by-snap basis.
The biggest talking point came after Kyle Hamilton won the overtime coin toss. The usual assumption in the NFL’s newer overtime setup is simple: take the ball second and let the information game work in your favor.
Jesse Minter had a different idea, and he had help from game management coordinator Charlie Gelman and others on the staff. Baltimore wanted the ball first, and it wasn’t hard to see why.
Atlanta’s defense had just watched Tyler Huntley drive the Ravens down the field in less than two minutes. Derrick Henry and Justice Hill had been punching holes in the Falcons’ run defense, and Huntley had finally settled in through the air.
Baltimore also had just hit Falcons quarterback Michael Penix on the final drive of regulation. Penix said after the game that he could have taken the field if Atlanta got the ball first.
Instead, Declan Doyle’s offense delivered a 14-play drive that lasted 7 minutes and 3 seconds and ended in a touchdown. Henry carried the ball six times on the series, the longest completion went for 10 yards, and Atlanta burned both of its timeouts just trying to hold on.
By the time the Falcons got the ball back, there were fewer than 3 minutes left. Penix threw on the sideline, but Tua Tagovailoa entered the game instead.
Kyle Hamilton finished it off.
The drive was so deliberate that Ben Gretch noted Atlanta had to use both overtime timeouts on defense to preserve time, leaving it with just under three minutes and the 2-minute stoppage. He also pointed out that Baltimore’s approach attacked Atlanta’s quarterback situation more than the broadcast debate over whether to kick or receive suggested. Without timeouts and with only 2:50 left, Atlanta could no longer lean into a run-based offense.
James Dator described the same sequence as a 14-play, 7:03-minute touchdown drive that forced the Falcons into a corner. At 2nd and goal, the clock was so chewed up that Atlanta almost had to let Baltimore score just to have a chance to get the ball back.
The lesson here is that not every team can pull this off. Baltimore had Henry in the backfield, short passing with Huntley and a defense that had already changed the shape of the game. Other teams will try to copy the formula, but the Ravens had the personnel to make it work.
Tyler Loop has become a big part of that reliability. Jamison Hensley noted that the kicker hit two field goals from 51 yards in Week 5, pushing him to 5-for-5 from 50 yards or longer this season.
That’s a sharp turn from last year, when he went 1-of-4 from 50-plus as a rookie. Jeff Zrebiec added that while Ravens coaches kept talking up Loop’s leg, he hadn’t always cashed in on those chances.
This year, through five games, he has, and the Ravens don’t win the Cowboys game or the Falcons game without those long kicks.
Then there’s Flowers, whose production keeps making the “No. 1 receiver” question look sillier by the week. Ryan Mink wrote that there really shouldn’t have been any debate after Flowers finished seventh in the NFL in receiving yards last season, but the question returned anyway when the Ravens gave him a four-year, reportedly $140 million extension this offseason. Flowers has answered it in the way only top receivers do: with numbers that jump off the page.
He has 405 receiving yards this season, which ranks eighth in the NFL, even though he has missed two games’ worth of snaps because of a hamstring injury and Lamar Jackson has missed a game and a half as well. On a per-route basis, Flowers leads the NFL with 4.5 yards per route run. With Jackson under center, he has averaged 9.1 yards per route run and 5.3 yards per play.
Put it all together and the Ravens came out of Sunday night with a blueprint, a kicker hitting from distance and a receiver putting up the kind of efficiency that doesn’t leave much room for debate.
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Atlantas decision to go with Tua Tagovailoa in overtime quickly turned into a costly swing, and Baltimore made it feel even worse by turning that first possession into the games decisive play. The Ravens 30-23 win came with the kind of defensive edge that can change how a comeback is remembered, especially when the team is already trying to prove it can survive without its starting quarterback. [Read more 🡒]