With the contest well in hand late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, the Baltimore Ravens opted not to kneel the ball while leading 23-7 with just 0:03 remaining on the game.
The Ravens instead ran the ball, with quarterback Lamar Jackson rushing five yards. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh wanted to tie a record for the most consecutive 100-yard rushing performances in NFL history.
Jackson’s five-yard rush gave the Ravens 102 rushing yards on the day, tying the league’s record of 43-straight games with 100 yards on the ground.
“That was 100% my call,” Harbaugh said after the game. “That’s one of those things that’s meaningful. It’s one of those things that I think as a head coach you have to be mindful of your team, your players and your coaches and what it means to them.
“It’s a very tough record to accomplish and it’s a long-term record …. As a head coach I think you do that for your players, and you do that for your coaches which is something that they’ll have for the rest of our lives.”
Denver’s sideline was clearly not happy about Baltimore running the ball, and Broncos coach Vic Fangio had some choice words for the Ravens’ decision during his media availability on Monday (video has NSFW language).
Vic Fangio, less than pleased with the @Ravens running the ball late to hit 100-yards rushing in 43 straight games, rather than take a knee. He also said, “player safety is secondary to them.” @KOAColorado #BroncosCountry pic.twitter.com/18JcT5UDxx
— Brandon Krisztal (@BKDenverSports) October 4, 2021
“Yeah I thought it was kind of [nonsense], but I expected it from them,” Fangio said. “You know, I’ve — in 37 years of pro ball I’ve never seen anything like that, so. But it was to be expected and we expected it.”
Fangio was then asked why he expected it.
“Because I just know how they operate,” the coach explained. “You know, that’s just their mode of operation there. Player safety is secondary.”
Fangio coached under Harbuagh in Baltimore from 2008-2009. Denver dropped to 3-1 following Sunday’s loss to the Ravens, who improved to 3-1 with their win.
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