Lamar Jackson’s last throw was his helmet.
Just seconds after his final pass to the end zone fell incomplete, ending Baltimore’s 29-24 loss to Cleveland, the Ravens’ star quarterback took off his helmet and slammed it down in frustration.
It was that kind of day for the Ravens (5-3), who failed to finish off the Browns (2-6) and had their five-game winning streak come to an end. Baltimore entered the game with the top offense in the NFL, the league’s leading rusher, and Jackson performing like an MVP.
But starting with a failed fourth-down conversion at Cleveland’s 2-yard line on their opening drive, and continuing with safety Kyle Hamilton dropping a game-clinching interception with one minute left, the Ravens didn’t meet their usual standards.
“Every loss is frustrating,” said Jackson, who missed connecting with Zay Flowers on two throws into the end zone in the last 14 seconds. “We didn’t make plays.”
This loss might sting more because the Ravens had several chances to finish off the Browns.
Baltimore led twice in the second half and went ahead 24-23 on Derrick Henry’s 2-yard run with 2:19 remaining.
The Ravens defense, missing cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Nate Wiggins due to injuries, needed just one stop in the final two minutes but couldn’t make it.
They were so close. After Cleveland quarterback Jameis Winston, who threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns, converted on a third-and-7 with 1:18 left, Ravens coach John Harbaugh called a timeout.
He could not have anticipated what would happen next.
After a false start penalty pushed the Browns back, Winston overthrew a pass to wide receiver Elijah Moore. The ball went right to Hamilton, who couldn’t catch it despite getting his hands on it five times in a failed attempt.
Hamilton lay face down on the ground for a few seconds, realizing he could have ended the game.
On the next play, Winston found Cedric Tillman, who got behind Baltimore’s defense and caught a 38-yard touchdown pass. After the game, Hamilton was not available to speak.
Earlier, safety Eddie Jackson missed a chance to intercept Winston, who was starting for the first time in two years.
“I’ve just got to come down with it,” Jackson said. “This one has got me sick. There is no big theory behind it. We’re just not making game-changing plays. We’ve just got to catch the ball. Now we’ve got to live with this one and take it on the chin. But this one sucks.”
That feeling was shared in Baltimore’s locker room as the Ravens, who had a short week after their win at Tampa Bay on Monday night, reflected on a surprising loss.
“We know we should’ve won that ballgame,” defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike said. “It hurts. It’s frustrating, point-blank frustrating. It hurts a little bit, but what can we do?”
This was a rare loss for Harbaugh against the Browns. He fell to 25-8 against Cleveland and didn’t make any excuses.
“You’re not going to win every game,” he said. “It was a tough situation coming in here. I think our guys handled all of that pretty well. We operated pretty well. We didn’t do enough. We didn’t make the plays and that’s really what it boils down to.”
