Ball don’t lie: 3 worst calls from Week 8 in the NFL
By Mark Powell
2. Time ticks away in Baltimore
Were it not for one unthinkably poor missed call, the Ravens would easily be No. 1 on this list. In the final minute of their heartbreaking loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson completed a deep pass to Willie Snead to set Baltimore up inside Pittsburgh’s 30-yard line with a chance to win. Jackson did the right thing shortly thereafter by running up to the line and spiking the ball with eight seconds left. It all seems standard, right?
Yet, behind the play, Steelers DE Cameron Heyward was injured, forcing the Steelers to call a timeout before Jackson snapped the ball to stop the clock. Why, then, was more time not put back on the clock before the Ravens’ next snap? Harbaugh was given no answer, and even CBS rules expert and former NFL referee Gene Steratore was perplexed.
“I asked about the time, I got no answer on that. I think they said the time was fine,” Harbaugh said, via Jonas Shaffer of the Baltimore Sun.
That’s not a good enough answer, and it’s the difference between having two shots at the end zone and three as the Steelers’ defense was reeling. Instead, Jackson’s last-ditch attempt fell incomplete on a great play by Steelers’ safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
But the Ravens should’ve had at least one more chance at paydirt.