BALTIMORE _ The Ravens waited for over a year for this moment. They weathered a summer full of injuries and roster defections. They persevered through one of the worst stretches of offensive football in team history and came back from being 4-5 at their bye week.
All they had to do to return the playoffs for the seventh time in 10 years and to finalize a second-half comeback from two touchdowns down was get one stop against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Just like last year _ when they allowed a last-second touchdown to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16 with the AFC North title on the line _ that stop never came and the Ravens lost 31-27 to the Bengals. Now they have all season to lament blowing another opportunity to make the playoffs.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton hit Tyler Boyd for a 49-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds to play, providing a devastating ending to the Ravens' playoff hopes. The touchdown came on fourth-and-12 after the Ravens had roared back in the second half by scoring 17 unanswered points.
The Ravens got the ball back and started their drive with 38 seconds to play, but Joe Flacco was unable to rally his offense down the field. With the Tennessee Titans (9-7) and Buffalo Bills (9-7) both winning Sunday, the Ravens (9-7) missed the postseason for the third consecutive year and the fourth time in five years.
Trailing by seven at halftime, the Ravens offense finally found a little rhythm and was driving for the potential game-tying score when Chris Moore, who got the Ravens back into the game with a long kick return followed by a touchdown catch late in the second quarter, bobbled a pass by Flacco that was thrown behind him.
Bengals cornerback Darqueze Dennard caught the deflection and returned it 89 yards for a touchdown. The defensive score gave the Bengals a 24-10 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter and silenced the crowd that remained.
With their playoff hopes slipping away, the Ravens answered immediately. On fourth-and-3 from the Bengals' 17, Harbaugh kept his offense on the field. Flacco pitched to running back Alex Collins, who ran left, where he encountered several Bengals defenders. Collins then cut back right and, sprung by a lead block from Buck Allen, sprinted 17 yards for a touchdown.
The touchdown cut the Bengals' lead to 24-17 with 6:16 left in the third quarter. The defense then forced a three-and-out and the Ravens converted that into points as Justin Tucker kicked a 34-yard field goal to make it 24-20 with 13:08 remaining.
The Ravens then forced another three-and-out, putting a tired Bengals defense right back on the field. Down to three receivers, Flacco led a seven-play, 45-yard drive, hitting Mike Wallace for a 6-yard touchdown pass. The score gave the Ravens their first lead of the game, 27-24, with 8:48 to play.
The Ravens knew that the best way to discourage a Bengals team that had nothing to play for was to get off to a fast start. However, the opposite happened. Cincinnati got the ball first and went 78 yards on eight plays with Dalton ending the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Kroft.
The drive, which featured 47 rushing yards, foreshadowed a first half in which the Bengals dominated the Ravens on both sides of the ball. The Ravens were extremely fortunate to go into the locker room trailing just 17-10, and they were that close only because of Moore's heroics in a 19-second span to close the second quarter.
With the Ravens trailing 17-3 after Randy Bullock's 32-yard field goal, Moore took the ensuing kickoff and sprinted through the middle before cutting down the far sideline. He was brought down at the Bengals' 6 with eight seconds remaining.
On the next play, Flacco, who had a brutal first half, hit a tightly-covered Moore in the middle of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown pass. Tucker's extra point made it a seven-point game, which is as good as the Ravens could have hoped given how badly they were outplayed in the first half.
Ravens make WR Breshad Perriman, RB Terrance West healthy scratches vs. Bengals
Through the first 30 minutes, the Bengals outgained the Ravens 268-61. They held the ball for 20:55 while the Ravens kept possession for just 9:05. Cincinnati had 16 first downs while the Ravens had just two.
Flacco finished the first half 5-for-19 for 28 yards. He missed two opportunities for big plays by under throwing wide receiver Mike Wallace. Wallace also had two costly drives and the Ravens had five drops total in the first half.
After a 16-yard run by Collins on the Ravens' second offensive play from scrimmage, the Ravens went seven consecutive drives without picking up a first down. One of them ended with a 46-yard field goal by Tucker after the defense had given the offense the ball at the 34-yard line when C.J. Mosley stripped Joe Mixon.
Otherwise, the Ravens defense struggled for much of the first half. They settled down after the Bengals' opening scoring drive, forcing either a punt or a turnover on five consecutive Cincinnati drives. However, Dalton led a nine-play, 72-yard drive that ended with him hitting a wide-open Kroft for a 5-yard touchdown.
That made it 14-3, and the Bengals, who had little trouble moving the ball on the ground and protecting Dalton, added a field goal on their next drive. At that point, with both the Bills and Titans taking control of their respective games, the boo birds were out at M&T Bank Stadium.
