50 replies to this topic

[SouthRider]

It's shocking that two weeks ago Miami was playing for the number one seed.  Instead, they wind up as an underdog on the road against KC. 

 

Kudos to Buffalo.  They are the team that scares me.  Experienced, good coaching, Allen will not be rattled.  I also want no part of Pittsburgh.  They just play the Ravens tough no matter the standings. 

 

I think the Ravens beat the Browns easily and squeak by Buffalo to the Super Bowl vs San Francisco.  SB is a toss-up. 

[jamesdean]

The history is what it is but as you said, the history of home playoff games is mostly irrelevant. The 2006 and 2019 teams should've won but 2003 and 2018 were kind of "just happy to be there" teams and a playoff win would've been gravy.

 

Either way, trends and history are talking points for TV, podcasts and articles but they have no bearing on the 2023 Ravens. Health and the matchups are what matter. 

I still say the 2006 play-off loss to the Colts was the most brutal in team history.  At least for me it was.  I still get sick to my stomach thinking about it.  Maybe because there was so much hype leading up to that game and the fact that defensively, we did a great job against Manning and STILL lost is hard to take even now. 

[Ravens2006]

I still say the 2006 play-off loss to the Colts was the most brutal in team history.  At least for me it was.  I still get sick to my stomach thinking about it.  Maybe because there was so much hype leading up to that game and the fact that defensively, we did a great job against Manning and STILL lost is hard to take even now. 

 

Yep, the TEN loss stung... but keeping Peyton Manning and that offense out of the endzone, and NOT winning that game... brutal.  Never mind it being the Colts, could have been any team for me, but to do what they did vs a QB of that caliber and losing.  Ouch.  

 

If McNair could have just held serve for a few more weeks.  Hell, he could have been mediocre or even bad in the SB vs the Bears, that defense would have demolished them anyway and probably won without much help from the offense.  What he had done so well through most of the regular season, making some quick decisions and good throws in 3rd downs or near the goal line... he stopped come playoff time.  Such a shame.  The ball intended for Heap that got picked off at the goal line... if he throws it a fraction of a second sooner it's a TD.  But he just kinda slowed down the last few weeks.  Ed Reed had 2 INTs and one of which he made a crazy move to pitch the ball to McAlister before he stepped out of bounds... but the refs blew the play dead.  McAlister had a wall of blockers and a LOT of room to the right side of the field.  Everything that could go wrong did.  Ugh.

 

I'll admit the 2008 AFC title game in PIT never really bothered me all that much.  Mainly because the Ravens had a rookie QB and absolutely NOBODY expected anything out that season.  Joe looked terrible to my eyes in the pre-season that year.  A .500-ish season with any notable improvement from him by the last few weeks would have been awesome to me.  Beating MIA and the "wildcat" then winning at TEN (in part because the refs missed a pretty blatant late snap), awesome awesome awesome.  The AFC title game at that point was icing and gravy.  Worst part of that one for me was as momentum seemed to be swinging the Ravens direction and they returned that punt late to around midfield I think... then when they came back from commercial, a Darren Stone personal foul on teh return had pushed them back inside their own 20.  

[PrimeTime]

I still say the 2006 play-off loss to the Colts was the most brutal in team history.  At least for me it was.  I still get sick to my stomach thinking about it.  Maybe because there was so much hype leading up to that game and the fact that defensively, we did a great job against Manning and STILL lost is hard to take even now. 

 

Not gonna lie, I think I was genuinely depressed for about 4-5 days after that Colts game. I still can't believe we didn't give the ball to Jamal in that goal to go situation and instead McNair tried to force a ball to Heap in like triple coverage.

[BaltBird 24]

How Jamal only had 13 carries in that game is beyond me.

That defense alone was good enough to be a championship team.

[mdrunning]

Not gonna lie, I think I was genuinely depressed for about 4-5 days after that Colts game. I still can't believe we didn't give the ball to Jamal in that goal to go situation and instead McNair tried to force a ball to Heap in like triple coverage.

Had the Ravens won that game, they'd have had home field for the AFC championship since New England upset top-seeded San Diego the next day.

[mdrunning]

How Jamal only had 13 carries in that game is beyond me.

That defense alone was good enough to be a championship team.

Considering that the Colts finished dead last against the run that season, it didn't make much sense.

 

I think the wheels for Billick's eventual departure were set in motion that day.

[Mackus]

Considering that the Colts finished dead last against the run that season, it didn't make much sense.

I think the wheels for Billick's eventual departure were set in motion that day.

I think more than Billick's downfall, it foreshadowed McNair's impending downfall. He was really bad that game with some crippling turnovers, and then was basically just as bad the next season before getting hurt.

[mdrunning]

I think more than Billick's downfall, it foreshadowed McNair's impending downfall. He was really bad that game with some crippling turnovers, and then was basically just as bad the next season before getting hurt.

True. McNair's arm was a noodle by that time.

[jamesdean]

Not gonna lie, I think I was genuinely depressed for about 4-5 days after that Colts game. I still can't believe we didn't give the ball to Jamal in that goal to go situation and instead McNair tried to force a ball to Heap in like triple coverage.

I hear you.  It stayed with me all week.  As a matter of fact, I was so despondent driving home from my buddy's house that I seriously thought about not following football anymore.  I was thinking that it was insane to let a sporting event upset me that much and I still question that sometimes.  It just amazes me how long losses can stay with me.  Here we are, 18 years later and that playoff loss to the Colts still sickens me.  What a waste of a great defensive effort and embarrassing that they couldn't score more than 6 points against a very average Colts defense. 

[jamesdean]

True. McNair's arm was a noodle by that time.

You watch pitchers in baseball lose it almost overnight and that's exactly what happened to McNair.  By 2007, he was just a ghost of his former self, carried over from that disastrous playoff loss. 

[jamesdean]

I hear you.  It stayed with me all week.  As a matter of fact, I was so despondent driving home from my buddy's house that I seriously thought about not following football anymore.  I was thinking that it was insane to let a sporting event upset me that much and I still question that sometimes.  It just amazes me how long losses can stay with me.  Here we are, 18 years later and that playoff loss to the Colts still sickens me.  What a waste of a great defensive effort and embarrassing that they couldn't score more than 6 points against a very average Colts defense. 

One last thing- it reminds me of how badly my father took the Colts losing to the Jets in the Super Bowl.  He told me for years that he was sick for a week after that game, made excessively worse because his brother, who lived in NYC, was a diehard Jets fan.  

[85Knight]

I hear you. It stayed with me all week. As a matter of fact, I was so despondent driving home from my buddy's house that I seriously thought about not following football anymore. I was thinking that it was insane to let a sporting event upset me that much and I still question that sometimes. It just amazes me how long losses can stay with me. Here we are, 18 years later and that playoff loss to the Colts still sickens me. What a waste of a great defensive effort and embarrassing that they couldn't score more than 6 points against a very average Colts defense.

Yeah I was there and I feel your pain. The most disappointing Ravens loss I've ever felt and we've had a few. On top of that I had a drunk Colts fan close to me who decided to heckle my section after the game. Security saved him that day.

[mdrunning]

One last thing- it reminds me of how badly my father took the Colts losing to the Jets in the Super Bowl.  He told me for years that he was sick for a week after that game, made excessively worse because his brother, who lived in NYC, was a diehard Jets fan.  

I've compared the Ravens' 2019 loss to Tennessee to Super Bowl III. Still, no loss was ever as devastating as that Colts' loss to the Jets, at least not from a Baltimore football standpoint.

[SouthRider]

2011 AFC Championship Game was the most gut wrenching loss for me. No other loss comes close.

[Pedro Cerrano]

14-2 loss to Tenn for me. Man that SUCKED

[jamesdean]

2011 AFC Championship Game was the most gut wrenching loss for me. No other loss comes close.

That was the missed FG by Cundiff, right?  I guess Tucker came on the scene one year too late. 

[Ravens2006]

That was the missed FG by Cundiff, right? I guess Tucker came on the scene one year too late.

I've long wondered... if Cundiff made that kick to tie it, win or lose after that... are the Ravens really in the market for a new PK the following year? And if not, does Cundiff miss other kicks the following year that short-circuit that Superbowl run???

[NewMarketSean]

Its past time we host a Championship game

Been to the SB. This is the last item on my football fan bucket list. And of course they need to win.

[NewMarketSean]

This team has a knack for brutal postseason exits. I think the loss to IND in 2009 and the loss to BUF in 2020 are the only ones that didn't leave me depressed for days, and they were bad enough.