Mike PrestonContact ReporterThe Baltimore Sun
The hot seat that
Ravens coach
John Harbaugh has been sitting on all season got hotter Sunday. Everybody from the front office to the coaching staff down to Poe the mascot should start getting a little nervous now.
The Ravens didn’t just lose to the
Carolina Panthers in what could almost be classified as a “must-win game,” but they got embarrassed, humiliated and humbled. It was a downright beat-down, a 36-21 debacle.
“We weren’t there in terms of what we needed to do — coaching, playing. It starts with me,” said Harbaugh, who is in his 11th season as the team’s coach. “It’s on my shoulders completely.”
Correct.
somewhere in his private confines, team owner
Steve Bisciotti had to be seething and wanting to know what the heck happened to his football team.
This was a golden opportunity for the Ravens. Had they beaten the Panthers, they would have been 5-3 going into a home showdown against the
Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, which is followed by a bye and two more games at M&T Bank Stadium, against the
Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders.
Five of the eight remaining games are still at home, but the Ravens are now 4-4 and still have to face marquee quarterbacks such as Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan, Philip Rivers and Patrick Mahomes.
And let’s not forget the unpredictable one, Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton.