There was a two-play series in Sunday’s Ravens home opener against the Saints where I knew the Ravens were in deep trouble.
Tied at 17 in the 4th quarter, the Ravens lined up at their own 37 with 8:21 to go. It was 3rd and 1. The Ravens lined up in shotgun and threw a deep, home run ball toward wide receiver Chris Moore, which fell incomplete.
The Ravens then immediately lined up to punt instead of going for it on 4th and 1.
The Saints immediately marched down the field for a methodical, 16 play, 68 yard drive that took over six-and-a-half minutes. Tyler Shough scored the go-ahead touchdown* on a 1-yard sneak with 1:28 to play.1 The Ravens got the ball back for one last shot, but Julian Blackmon intercepted Lamar Jackson at the New Orleans 7 with 20 seconds left to close it out. Final: Saints 24, Ravens 17.
The Ravens loss was cemented in that two-play sequence. Instead of handing the ball off to Derrick Henry, possibly the greatest running back of all time, the Ravens went for broke and came up with nothing. On the next play, rather than trust Henry (or Lamar Jackson, for that matter) on 4th down, the Ravens kicked the ball away and handed New Orleans the clock.
Last December, with a few weeks left in the season, I wrote that it was time to move on from John Harbaugh. One of the reasons for this was the Ravens’ inability to close out games, especially the habit of leaving Derrick Henry on the sidelines in the team’s most important moments. The Ravens agreed, at least about Harbaugh: they fired him in January and hired Jesse Minter. But old habits die hard. Today, Henry had 16 carries for 68 yards….but Henry had only five carries in the second half. A second half that opened with the Ravens leading 14-6.
Last fall, the Orioles changed managers too. After firing manager Brandon Hyde early in a disappointing 2025 season, the Orioles turned to Craig Albernaz as their field manager for 2026. But much like the Ravens, the results have been remarkably similar. Injuries, odd on-field decision-making, and poor lineup management have plagued the Orioles as they did last year.
The Ravens and Orioles changed their on-field leaders. But it appears the organizational strategies both have employed from upper management remain the same.
Maryland voters continue to employ the same philosophy as well. Yes, they may change the Governor, their County Executive, their State Senator on occasion. But at the end of the day, the voters continue to vote for the same old failed approaches: taxing the middle class into poverty, overzealous spending, and an explosive expansion of state government into every aspect of our lives. With Wes Moore having a commanding lead2, Democrats favored for re-election, and a possible yes vote on a bad Constitutional Amendment, Maryland voters are poised to vote for the same bad decisions they always make.
One day, Orioles ownership, Ravens ownership, and Maryland voters will all decide to change their organizational philosophies. Unfortunately, that day does not appear to be today. Until then, we’ll be punting on 4th and 1.
An asterisk for a reason, because the officiating in the 4-play goal-line sequence was horrifically terrible.
Again, partially because Republicans surrendered.