The Denver Broncos are not happy with John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens.
That much was clear Sunday afternoon.
With a night to sleep on it, Denver head coach Vic Fangio isn’t any less annoyed about Baltimore running the ball in a clear kneel-down situation late Sunday, just to tie an NFL record for consecutive games with 100 yards rushing.
“Yeah, I thought it was kind of bull—-, but I expected it from them,” Fangio told reporters Monday. “Thirty-seven years in pro ball, I’ve never seen anything like that, but it was to be expected and we expected it.”
The Ravens had the ball, leading 23-7, with just 3 seconds to go and needed just three yards to get to the century mark. So, Harbaugh and the Ravens let quarterback Lamar Jackson take the snap — from shotgun — and run a sweep to the left. He picked up five yards before sliding to the ground and ending the game.
That Baltimore was one game away from tying the record was known all week, Fangio reminded the press Monday. He also reiterated he wasn’t surprised the Ravens would do what they did in order to get the accolade.
“I just know how they operate,” Fangio said in a matter-of-fact tone. “That’s just their mode of operation there. Player safety is secondary.”
Fangio, it’s worth noting, worked for Harbaugh in Baltimore early in the head coach’s Ravens tenure.
Harbaugh defended the decision after the game Sunday.
“One hundred percent my call,” he told reporters, per the team’s website. “That’s one of those things that’s meaningful. It’s one of those things that, as a head coach, you’ve got to be mindful of your team and your players and your coaches and what it means to them.”
Certainly, the importance of such a relatively trivial accomplishment is up for debate. Pretty much no one outside of Baltimore — or the 1974-77 Pittsburgh Steelers, whom the Ravens tied — knew the “record” even exists, let alone who held it. On the flip side, had the Broncos just stopped the Ravens on that final play, Baltimore would have fallen one game short.
Classic case of everyone being petty.
