Andrews fumbling while trying to perform a juke step back with the ball hanging off his palm like 88' Jordan then subsequently dropping a uncontested 2 point conv cost them the game
He had a 85 total QBR. That was actually a high level game based on the defense he was playing and without his #1 WR.
Still not enough to get it done though.
He doesn’t seem like he has an extra level he can take his game to. He’s an extremely good player. He’s going to be a HOF’er, but he doesn’t seem like he has that 6th gear he can tap into when it’s playoff time—like the real all-time greats.
I've seen every Lamar playoff game. He played better in this game than all of them except last week...
Led them down the field on an opening TD drive. Led them down the field for the potentially game-tying TD drive. Those two drives alone, are levels of play he typically doesn't have in the playoffs. Last week + this week, I'd say he had his best postseason run from a performance standpoint. So there's reason for optimism for his future, he got better in both the regular season and playoffs, relative to his past in the regular season and playoffs...
He settled down in the second half, and had sustained drives and made great plays and smart runs. You can't say he played how he did last year, where he was scared to run------>he took those runs yesterday. And his throws were mostly on target...
The problem with Lamar, and the fuel for criticism since his playoff career has generally sucked, is that overthrow that resulted in the pick, was entirely his fault. And he compounded that by the fumble the very next drive. Two horrific sequences, and while the snap wasn't his fault, sometimes you need to just go the fukk down! That fumble wasn't a result of the snap, it was a result of Lamar getting wrapped up and still trying to wiggle away...
Just go the fukk down and take the 8-yard loss, rather than the 40-yard return that led to a TD!
Its these miscues that you rarely see from him in the regular season, but always show up in the playoffs with this guy. He didn't have a 2-turnover game all season. But its the playoffs, he always does this shyt in the playoffs...
So multiple things can be true at one time. He was great outside the two turnover drives in thw first half, and he really outplayed Allen aside from that too. Allen didnt turn it over and won, and he's now 2-0 vs Lamar in the playoffs. But he didn't outplay Lamar performance-wise...
Harbaugh chasing 2 pts early, the play calls on the 2's, the weird timeout usage at the ends of both halfs that gave the Bills extra time instead of making them use theirs, that shyt contributed to the loss. The Ravens D was fantastic in the 2nd half, but they got punked in the 1st half by the Bills O-line. That contributed to the loss. Henry dropping the wide open pass, Andrews dropping TWO passes (2pt conversion + wide open in the first half), and of course Andrews' fumble, those all contributed to the loss...
Enough went wrong for Baltimore that this L isn't solely on Lamar's shoulders. Je also was great aside from two drives. But Playoff Lamar showed up for two drives in the first half, and you could say that without those two turnovers, Baltimore may win this shyt going away. They outscored Buffalo 15-6 in the second half. You take away just the fumble, if he just goes the fukk down, that 40-yard return placed Buffalo's offense at the 23 yard line. If he just goes down, maybe they punt and pin Buffalo deep, it just entirely changes field position and momentum...
Lamar can take the heat because of how bad his playoff career has been to this point. It was still probably his second best playoff game...
So 1 more playoff win and he's neck and neck with Mahomes?
Not if Mahomes wins it again this year, nope...
capes flying in every thread
only that last drive does"
. The ravens exits in the Lamar era don’t look like that. Sometimes he has a bad game but every playoff loss is full of guys on offense and defense who blow it in big moments or the coaches deliver a masterclass in what not to do in game planning and play calling as well. Sometimes it’s all of these, like 2019 where they called something like 60 passes while they had 9-10 drops and the defense got absolutely shredded or 2023 where they called 6-8 designed runs all game and 45 passes against a great pass rush and pass defense in a game that was never out of reach while his top receiver also lost a fumble at the goal line in a game they lost by 7 points.
