Ravens crumble after fluke finger drama, 49ers humiliate Jags
Two of football's hottest teams fall apart in Week 10 - but in different ways. While the Ravens lose late in a thriller despite the Browns' bitter slip-up, the Jaguars go down against the 49ers. San Francisco tries everything for an NFL record, but it won't fall.
Baltimore Ravens - Cleveland Browns 31:33 (17:9)
The Ravens and Browns faced off in a highly anticipated AFC North divisional duel. And it was not to disappoint in terms of drama. Cleveland (6-3) managed to minimize the gap to the leaders in the division with a 33-31 thriller win over longtime rival Baltimore (7-3) after trailing for 9:24. At the same time, quarterback Lamar Jackson and Co., currently one of the hottest teams in the NFL, suffered a bitter defeat.
Observers predicted that the defense would decide this game, as the Ravens had allowed the fewest points in the league before the game (the Browns were in third place after all). And so it was Baltimore's defensive line that once again got the Ravens off to a lightning start: When the Browns were in possession of the ball on their second play, some people still had their heads in the locker room.
But not Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton: he first blocked quarterback Deshaun Watson's throw, then had the presence of mind to catch it as he sprinted forward - and strolled comfortably into the end zone for his first career touchdown and an early shock. "Are you kidding us?" his team wrote on X, formerly Twitter, over a video clip of Hamilton's heroics.
The Ravens proved a little later that they not only have a first-class defense. After the Browns were forced to punt, running back Keaton Mitchell, who had been extremely hot of late, made it 14-0 with an explosive 39-yard touchdown run. However, Cleveland's offensive line, which remains an enigma, was unable to produce more than two field goals until shortly before halftime.
However, two actions brought the Browns back into the game. First, a blocked punt led to another field goal. Then the Cleveland defense showed what it was capable of and intercepted a long pass from Jackson. The interception did not lead to any more Browns points, but although the Ravens had largely dominated the game, even without an MVP performance from Jackson, they went into the break with a 17:9 lead and a bad feeling.
Jackson quickly made up for that in the third quarter: after a short rocket throw from the quarterback inches into the hands of superstar Odell Beckham Junior, the Ravens made it 24-9, looking like "OBJ", who also played a few years for the Browns, in his prime.
The Browns responded with a 17-play drive that included a touchdown followed by a two-point conversion just before the fourth quarter. However, a bad slip of the finger played into the Ravens' hands: the Browns dropped the egg on the catch after a punt, giving Baltimore possession a few yards from the end zone. A short run and the Ravens made it 31:17. Was that it?
Not at all. Because the next drama followed immediately. The Browns closed the gap to 24:31 and shortly afterwards intercepted a deflected throw from Jackson and carried it straight into the end zone. But that wasn't enough, the next bitter slip-up followed: Because the extra point failed, the Ravens still led 31:30, but in the end the Browns gained possession of the ball again, kicked a field goal and actually turned the thriller in their favor.
Jacksonville Jaguars - San Francisco 49ers 3:34 (3:13)
Two heavyweights from different conferences met in Florida. Two series were at stake: the Jaguars' five-game winning streak and the 49ers' three-game losing streak. Both were snapped with a humiliating 34:3 victory for the Californians.
The first three drives of the duel perfectly summarized the 49ers' victory: Dominance for San Francisco, a black day for Jacksonville. While the Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (185 yards at the end), who had been playing strongly of late, failed to gain even one yard on his first six attempts, the Californians covered 57 yards in their first four tries and quarterback Brock Purdy (296 yards at the end) found Brandon Aiyuk for a 13-yard touchdown.
The wind would not turn the game over the direction. Purdy and Co. found their way back into the game with apparent ease after three consecutive losses, just like last November - when they began their magnificent winning streak that took them all the way to the conference championship final. This was despite running back Christian McCaffrey having a difficult game, failing to make history despite numerous attempts and scoring an unprecedented 18th consecutive touchdown.
After a Jaguars and two 49ers field goals, things got even worse for the team from Florida right at the start of the second half: first San Francisco tight end George Kittle scored an outstanding 66-yard touchdown to make it 20-3, then Lawrence, who had already been responsible for a fumble, threw an interception.
The humiliation continued. Another 49ers touchdown did not count because after defensive back Ambry Thomas won the ball at his own 10-yard line (!), his run into the end zone was beautiful, but teammates from the sideline had entered the field of play in violation of the rules. A little later, Deebo Samuel made it 27:3 with a 23-yard run. And at the start of the final quarter, full-back Kyle Juszczyk added another seven points after a 22-yard pass from Purdy.
Despite wanting a comeback, the Ravens were unable to overcome the deficit from the 'Flutschfinger drama' and lost to the Browns, extending their losing streak. Meanwhile, the Jags were unable to match the 49ers' offensive prowess, suffering a humiliating 34-3 defeat.
Source: www.ntv.de
