Should Ravens Move on From John Harbaugh?

While the Ravens didn't lose the turnover battle as has been the case in so many of their losses that followed a similar script, they still turned it over at the most inopportune times, which let the Patriots gain momentum and ultimately win the game in the end. And once again, it was some of their best players who were at fault as both Henry and two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Zay Flowers fumbled the ball in key moments.

Following the defense coming up with an interception on the Patriots' first drive of the game, the Ravens appeared poised to go up by double figures in the first quarter until Henry put the ball on the ground after a 5-yard gain. It was his first fumble lost since Week 3 and cost the Ravens a chance to go up by at least 10-0, if not 14-0, with how well they were moving the ball to start and throughout the game with him on the field.

After their defense gave up the lead late in the fourth quarter, the Ravens still had a chance to mount a game-winning drive of their own but it was cut short on it's second play and first back from the two-minute warning when Flowers coughed up the ball while trying to make a defender miss in the open field instead of just getting upfield as fast he could. It marked his third fumble of the season, all of which thwarted what could've been key scoring drives.

Harbaugh has historically abhorred fumbling and hasn't been afraid to bench or even bury talented players down on the depth chart when they've struggled with ball security. However, given that Henry and Flowers are their top two playmakers on offense after their quarterback and that the talent gap between them and the next best player at their respective positions remain wide, he can't just put and leave them in the doghouse.

While coaches often can't and shouldn't be blamed when a player loses the ball, they are at fault when their team and its best players exhibit a continued lack of situational awareness, especially when trailing or trying to put a tight game away.

The most telling postgame commentary that supports this unfortunate trend being a coaching issue didn't come from the Ravens locker room following this past week's loss, but rather the opposing one from the player who came up clutch for the Patriots by punching the ball out of Flowers' grasp. While speaking to reporters, veteran edge defender K'Lavon Chaisson compared the Ravens' ball carriers to speed skaters, which made them easier marks prone to fumbling.

"Ball getting a little lose from their body," Chaisson said. "It's kind of how a couple of their ball carriers move with the ball. We already knew that going in. A couple of guys put it on film already."

If the Patriots coaches and players picked up on it and were able to exploit it, the Ravens coaches and players should've noticed and corrected it as well during the self-scouting process. How many times does the same mistake have to rear its ugly head at the worst times before something changes? Flowers isn't the only talented pass catcher on this team who suffers from his bad habit.

In their last two home losses prior to this most recent, fourth-year tight end Isaiah Likely's inability to hold onto the ball in the end zone in Week 14 and before crossing the goal line in Week 13 resulted in a touchdown getting overturned on a questionable review and a touchback after he fumbled a yard away from pay dirt.

In last year's Divisional round playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, three-time Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews fumbled the ball trying to do too much in the open field with the ball away from his body and missed the opportunity to redeem himself by dropping what would've been the game-tying two-point conversion.

Change is inevitable

Even some of the best and winningest coaches in NFL history have been either fired or mutually parted ways with the franchises with which they have enjoyed so much prosperity over an extended period, and that time might have finally arrived in Baltimore.

Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry was let go as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1989—one year short of three decades on the job—when Jerry Jones took over as owner. Similarly, Harbaugh's mentor, Andy Reid, was fired by the Philadelphia Eagles after 14 years despite being regarded as one of the game's most brilliant offensive minds. Reid's subsequent tenure as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, aside from the 2025 season from hell, has far surpassed his first chapter.

Despite building the greatest dynasty in NFL history that spanned over two decades, over a dozen division titles, nine Super Bowl appearances and bringing six Vince Lombardi trophies to the organization, not even the great Bill Belichick was able to finish his coaching career with the New England Patriots.

Whether it comes as an amicable dissolution via mutually parting of ways like Belichick or a straight-up firing like Reid if the team doesn't make the playoffs after entering the season as the odds on Super Bowl favorite, the end of Harbaugh's tenure as the steward of his team feels long overdue and imminent at this point baring a miraculous run to a championship.