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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The bewildered expression on Jim Harbaugh’s face told the story of Monday night’s Harbowl.
Not even he seemed to have anticipated the daring fourth-down decision that flipped the latest Harbaugh sibling showdown in favor of his older brother.
It was audacious enough that John Harbaugh left the Baltimore offense on the field with two minutes left in the first half and Ravens facing 4th-and-1 from their own 16-yard line. No NFL team had gone for it on fourth down from inside their own 20 in the first half in four-plus years.
It was even riskier that John chose not to give the ball to either of his feared short-yardage playmakers, nimble-footed quarterback Lamar Jackson or bulldozing running back Derrick Henry. John instead called for a tush-push style play with tight end Mark Andrews taking a direct snap while Henry and fullback Patrick Ricard shoved him from behind.
The high-risk fourth-and-1 conversion by Andrews sparked an eight-play, 93-yard drive that culminated with Baltimore scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 40-yard pass from Lamar Jackson to Rashod Bateman. The Ravens never relinquished the lead in the second half, opening a two-touchdown cushion midway through the fourth quarter and hanging on for an impressive 30-23 road victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.
When asked why he risked going for it on fourth down from inside his own 20-yard line, John said he had a gut feeling “that I really thought we could get it.” The elder Harbaugh brother knew the downside was giving the Chargers a gift-wrapped chance to take a two-score lead before halftime, but he felt his team needed to maintain possession in that position down three against a playoff-caliber opponent on the road.
“I’m not saying we’ll go for it all the time in those situations,” John elaborated, “but the overriding thing was who we were playing. The idea was that you’ve got to try to hang onto possessions as long as you can because they’re so…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/inside-john-harbaughs-daring-4th-down-decision-that-turned-the-harbowl-in-ravens-favor-over-chargers-072439589.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-11-26 07:24:00
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