Analyst Defends Ravens After Week 1 Collapse

The Baltimore Ravens have been labeled in the past for letting go of the rope more than your average contender, frequently failing to put their opponents away whenever they start finding themselves at the wrong end of a crunch-time comeback.

It's rare that a team will capitalize every time they taste a meaningful lead, with even the most competent organizations dropping the occasional stinker to a team that could've been taken out of a game earlier. The Ravens' most recent loss to the Buffalo Bills, though, solidified what their loudest doubters have been saying about the squad ever since Lamar Jackson took over. They went belly-up in the clutch yet again, losing 41-40 in a playoff rematch that had a lot more on the line than the stakes of an early-season record.

Some analysts used the collapse as a chance to blame Jackson or some of his most prized costars, but Colin Cowherd saw things differently. The FS1 analyst understands that both the star quarterback and his team played a much better 60-minute complete game than their final four minutes would indicate, and took to pushing back on Baltimore's late-game reputation.

"I went back and I looked, and the Ravens are one of seven teams to lead at least 20 games by nine-to-16 points in the fourth quarter over the past four seasons. And here's what's funny about the teams that lead big – they're all good: Ravens, Bills, 49ers, Bengals, Lions, Eagles, Chiefs," Cowherd said.

"The other thing I noticed is the Ravens have led by more a lot more often. They've had 10 more huge leads in the fourth quarter than Buffalo in just four seasons, and seven more than the Chiefs in just four seasons, and 10 more than the Bengals."