Gutsy calls, tight races set up NFL for wild finish
ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer
John Harbaugh again went for the win and the AFC North became even more jumbled.
The Ravens (8-6) lost their third straight game Sunday when Tyler Huntley threw incomplete to Mark Andrews on a 2-point conversion attempt after Baltimore had rallied for two touchdowns in the final five minutes to get within one point against Green Bay.
The same thing happened in Week 13 at Pittsburgh. That time, Lamar Jackson threw incomplete to Andrews and the Ravens lost to the Steelers 20-19.
Baltimore’s latest loss knocked the Ravens out of first place and set up a showdown at Cincinnati (8-6) for the top spot next week.
The Browns (7-6) are right behind those two teams and host Las Vegas on Monday. The Steelers (7-6-1) kept up with an impressive win over AFC South-leading Tennessee.
The division likely will come down to the final week when Baltimore hosts Pittsburgh, and Cleveland hosts Cincinnati.
Perhaps the Ravens would be in a better position if they kicked the extra point and played for overtime against the Steelers and Packers, though there’s no guarantee they would’ve won either game.
“It goes by situation to situation,” Harbaugh said. “Those two situations you want to talk about, if you want to go back and rehash the season, I’m happy to do it. To me, in both of those cases, that gave us the best chance to win. Because we didn’t win doesn’t make it not true. It’s still true now, just as true as it was then. So, it doesn’t always work out.”
Harbaugh wasn’t the only coach whose aggressiveness backfired in Week 15. Chargers coach Brandon Staley passed up three field goals only to see his offense fail to convert on fourth down each time in a 34-28 overtime loss to Kansas City on Thursday night.
He also didn’t apologize.
“I’m never going to gamble as a coach,” Staley said. “These players mean too much to me. Our team means too much to me. I’m not gambling at all. I’m definitely not going to be reckless, ever. I felt like those were advantaged situations for us. I didn’t think any one of those opportunities decreased our chances of winning. I felt like doing that made our chances of winning increase in a big way. What we’re trying to establish around here is the mindset that we’re going to try and go win the game on our terms, and the team is going to have to beat us.”
A victory would’ve given Los Angeles (8-6) a season sweep over the Chiefs and put the Chargers in first place in the AFC West. Instead, the Chargers, like the Ravens, have a tougher task to reach the postseason.
The close race in the AFC North is a microcosm of the NFL in 2021.
Only the Packers (11-3) have clinched a division title. The Buccaneers (10-4) and Cowboys (10-4) have comfortable leads, but Tampa Bay missed an opportunity to win the NFC South and hurt its chances for a No. 1 seed by losing 9-0 to the Saints.
The NFC West suddenly got tighter with Arizona’s stunning loss at Detroit to the previously one-win Lions. The Cardinals have a half-game lead over the Rams (9-4) going into Los Angeles’ game against Seattle on Tuesday night.
The AFC East is up for grabs with New England (9-5) and Buffalo (8-6) separated by one game. Indianapolis (8-6) is one game behind the Titans (9-5) but lost to them twice. The Chiefs (10-4) have a two-game lead over the Chargers.
This is the first time since 2002 that no teams in the AFC have clinched a playoff spot after 15 weeks, although the schedule was extended to 18 weeks this season.
Eight AFC teams are within one game of each other — the Raiders (6-7) could make it nine if they beat the Browns — in the race for three wild-card spots.
The NFC will have at least five teams within one game of each other for the last wild-card spot.
With four games remaining in Week 15, only four teams have been eliminated from playoff contention.
The NFL’s first season with 17 games is setting up for a wild finish. With coaches like Harbaugh and Staley making gutsy decisions on a weekly basis, it’ll make it even more exciting.
Gutsy calls, tight races set up NFL for wild finish
Gregory Bull
Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers became the first player in NFL history to throw for at least 30 TDs passes in each of his first two seasons when he threw for three scores in a 37-21 win over the Giants.
Herbert followed up last season's rookie-record 31 TD passes with 30 more so far this season. Herbert (23 years, 277 days) was the second-youngest player to reach the 60 TD mark, trailing only Dan Marino (23 years, 78 days).
Earlier against the Giants, Herbert threw a 59-yard strike to Jalen Guyton that traveled 63.8 yards in the air, according to NFL NextGen stats. That's the second-longest throw on a completion pass this season and the 10th pass in Herbert's career that traveled at least 55 yards in the air, the most in the NFL since the start of last season.
Gregory Bull
Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers became the first player in NFL history to throw for at least 30 TDs passes in each of his first two seasons when he threw for three scores in a 37-21 win over the Giants.
Herbert followed up last season's rookie-record 31 TD passes with 30 more so far this season. Herbert (23 years, 277 days) was the second-youngest player to reach the 60 TD mark, trailing only Dan Marino (23 years, 78 days).
Earlier against the Giants, Herbert threw a 59-yard strike to Jalen Guyton that traveled 63.8 yards in the air, according to NFL NextGen stats. That's the second-longest throw on a completion pass this season and the 10th pass in Herbert's career that traveled at least 55 yards in the air, the most in the NFL since the start of last season.
Gutsy calls, tight races set up NFL for wild finish
Stacy Bengs
The Vikings have played 10 straight games decided by eight points or fewer after beating Pittsburgh 36-28 last Thursday. That's two games shy of tying the longest streak in NFL history, shared by the 2015 Ravens and 1989 Chargers.
Minnesota also became the 15th team in the Super Bowl era to take a lead of at least six points in each of the first 13 games of the season. The Vikings have only managed a 6-7 record despite that, while 13 of the other 14 teams won at least 10 games.
The 1991 Saints (9-4) had the worst record of that group before the Viking,s as those 14 teams combined for an .852 winning percentage.
Stacy Bengs
The Vikings have played 10 straight games decided by eight points or fewer after beating Pittsburgh 36-28 last Thursday. That's two games shy of tying the longest streak in NFL history, shared by the 2015 Ravens and 1989 Chargers.
Minnesota also became the 15th team in the Super Bowl era to take a lead of at least six points in each of the first 13 games of the season. The Vikings have only managed a 6-7 record despite that, while 13 of the other 14 teams won at least 10 games.
The 1991 Saints (9-4) had the worst record of that group before the Viking,s as those 14 teams combined for an .852 winning percentage.
Gutsy calls, tight races set up NFL for wild finish
Aaron Gash
The Bears and Packers played a second quarter unlike any other in NFL history.
The teams combined for six touchdowns, one field goal and 45 points in the highest-scoring quarter in the storied history of the rivalry.
But the big plays went beyond that. Five of the six touchdowns came on plays of more than 35 yards, the first time in NFL records dating to 1925 that happened in a quarter.
Jakeem Grant scored on a 46-yard catch and a Bears record 97-yard punt return, Damiere Byrd had a 54-yard TD catch for Chicago, Rasul Douglas returned an interception 55 yards for a TD and Aaron Rodgers threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams.
Grant's punt return TD was the first in the NFL this season. This is the first time in the Super Bowl era no team returned a punt for a score in the first 13 weeks.
Aaron Gash
The Bears and Packers played a second quarter unlike any other in NFL history.
The teams combined for six touchdowns, one field goal and 45 points in the highest-scoring quarter in the storied history of the rivalry.
But the big plays went beyond that. Five of the six touchdowns came on plays of more than 35 yards, the first time in NFL records dating to 1925 that happened in a quarter.
Jakeem Grant scored on a 46-yard catch and a Bears record 97-yard punt return, Damiere Byrd had a 54-yard TD catch for Chicago, Rasul Douglas returned an interception 55 yards for a TD and Aaron Rodgers threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams.
Grant's punt return TD was the first in the NFL this season. This is the first time in the Super Bowl era no team returned a punt for a score in the first 13 weeks.
Gutsy calls, tight races set up NFL for wild finish
Rick Scuteri
In one week, the NFL doubled the number of successful onside kicks for the season.
Arizona, Chicago, Baltimore and the Giants all pulled off the feat in the fourth quarter of their games, although none were able to turn those into wins.
There had been four successful onside kicks the first 13 weeks of the season, including a surprise one by Detroit against the Rams in Week 7.
This marked just the fourth time since 1991 that there were four successful onside kick recoveries in the same week, according to Sportradar, with the last time coming in Week 13 of the 2019 season.
This was the first time that all four came in the fourth quarter when teams knew they were coming.
Rick Scuteri
In one week, the NFL doubled the number of successful onside kicks for the season.
Arizona, Chicago, Baltimore and the Giants all pulled off the feat in the fourth quarter of their games, although none were able to turn those into wins.
There had been four successful onside kicks the first 13 weeks of the season, including a surprise one by Detroit against the Rams in Week 7.
This marked just the fourth time since 1991 that there were four successful onside kick recoveries in the same week, according to Sportradar, with the last time coming in Week 13 of the 2019 season.
This was the first time that all four came in the fourth quarter when teams knew they were coming.
Gutsy calls, tight races set up NFL for wild finish
Nick Wass
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley (2) looks for a receiver as he is chased by Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Rashan Gary in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Nick Wass
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Tyler Huntley (2) looks for a receiver as he is chased by Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Rashan Gary in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
