Tyler Huntley Led The Ravens To An INSANE Comeback OT Win In Atlanta

Todd Kirkland. Getty Images.

Unbelievable win for Tyler Huntley and the boys. The odds were against the Ravens going on the road with their backup QB against a team that just boatraced a divisional opponent on MNF. Hell, when Lamar Jackson was declared out the spread shifted about 9 points, instantly making the Falcons the favorite. A lot of things had to go right for the Ravens for them to come out with a W.

In the early going… not a lot did. Despite a brilliant opening drive cooked up by Declan Doyle, a dropped TD by Mark Andrews (who is dead to me) left points on the board. Immediately after forcing a Falcons 3-and-out, Andrews coughed up a fumble that was returned for an easy Falcons TD (still dead to me). A couple drives later, Zay Flowers dropped a first down on a third and 3 near midfield. The Ravens found themselves trailing at the half where it felt like they should have staked themselves to a 2 score lead.

The defense leaked oil for most of the 2nd half. They could not seem to get off the field on 3rd and long, and were on the ropes late in the 4th with the Falcons driving down the field up 5.

Somehow, someway… the Ravens were able to avoid the killshot and force a field goal to keep it a one possession game.

Enter the absolute legend Tyler Huntley getting the ball with 2:31 left. The drive started with a holding call putting him back at 1st and 20. Then Snoop makes maybe the best downfield throw I've ever seen from him to get the chains moving and put the Falcons on their heels.

A few more chunk plays later and Snoop throws a perfect back shoulder ball to Tez Walker to put it in the end zone. Derrick Henry capped it off with a wildcat 2 point conversion, and suddenly it was a tie ballgame.

Still, it felt like a foregone conclusion that Michael Penix was just going to spam Drake London down the field and set up a game-winning field goal.

NOT SO FAST.

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Penix came back into the game briefly to try to finish regulation, but the sack had put them too far behind the sticks and off we were to OT.

The Ravens won the toss and put together a real bully ball drive. Derrick Henry was fresh from having basically sat out the game-tying drive (and the Ravens had only run 11 offensive plays in the 2nd half before that drive anyways) and was ready to rumble. 14 plays. 68 yards. Over 7 minutes. Just a clinical bully ball drive capped off by a Huntley QB sneak for the TD.

Penix was ruled out, which meant it was Tua time… which was short-lived. Fella threw a pick directly to Kyle Hamilton and that was ballgame. Incredible steal of a win with your star QB on the sidelines.

Now… Kyle Hamilton said it well in the postgame. That was a game the Ravens have lost several several times over the last few years. Even when there are heroics, there was always some knucklehead shit where the Ravens found a way to blow the game anyways. That type of stench was all over Mark Andrews tonight (who also had a 2 point conversion in his hands knocked out).

Twice in 3 weeks the Ravens have made heroic plays and closed out wins in games they have so often found themselves on the wrong side of. Maybe that's progression to the mean, but you can tell something has shifted in that locker room. Which is refreshing given the way that Week 2 Saints loss felt like so much more of the same from the Harbaugh era.

Anytime you put your backup QB out there, you are essentially just trying to survive and advance and scrape out a W. You need your guys to roll up their sleeves and step up in a big way. Each of the last 3 times his number has been called, Tyler Huntley has gotten the job done against Chicago, Green Bay, and now Atlanta. This was his best game yet. You can tell the guys (Lamar included) love to get behind Snoop and play hard for him.

There's so many guys who deserve kudos tonight. Obviously Huntley. Derrick Henry was very busy tonight and toted the rock 7 times on that OT drive… he was clearly winded as the Ravens approached the goal line, but hung tough and stayed in the game to wear down their defense. Tavius Robinson's sack was a game-changer. Zay Flowers is probably more affected by the QB change than anyone else, and he found ways to make plays, including a gritty 2nd effort for a key first down late. Rashod Bateman made some big plays down the stretch. Tez Walker made the biggest catch of his career. Justice Hill broke a big run. Vega Ioane was nails at center again. Kyle Hamilton made the game-ending play. Declan Doyle called a brilliant game. Hell, despite the struggles on 3rd down for a significant stretch and a lack of consistent pressure, Jesse Minter dialed up some aggressive blitzes in big spots to help the defense get off the field.

All of that gets us to 4-1, which is about what we probably could have hoped or expected at this juncture coming into the year. Of course, now we head back into another week of hoping and praying Lamar Jackson is back for a big time road divisional matchup in Cleveland. If he can't go, we will make do with Snoop and hope for the best. Regardless, we don't have to look back at his absence costing us a winnable game in Atlanta, and the locker room gets a huge boost in believing that they can close out tough wins.

Top of the AFC North, time to cement it further.