The Baltimore Ravens suffered a 20-19 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers during Week 13 of the 2021 season. The loss dropped Baltimore to 8-4, while Pittsburgh moved to 6-5-1.
The Ravens were down by seven points late in the game, but scored a touchdown with under 30 seconds to go in the contest. However, Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh elected to try to win the game on a two-point conversion instead of kicking an extra point to go to overtime. The attempt failed, and the Ravens lost the contest. When Baltimore inside linebacker Josh Bynes was asked about what the decision said about Harbaugh as a coach, the defender praised his aggressive nature, talking about how the move would have been received differently in other situations.
“He’s aggressive. He wanted to win the game. He wanted to put us in the right position. Like I said before, if we converted that two-point conversion, it’d be a whole different conversation we’d be having right now. I appreciate Coach [Harbaugh] for everything and then some. He wanted to be aggressive. He knew it was such a big game, especially in the AFC North, and [wanted] to come out victorious. It’s aggressive. Like I said, if we converted it, we’d be having this conversation about how Coach [Harbaugh] is brilliant and all these other things that you guys say. Now that we didn’t convert it, now it’s all crap that’s going to come out, or whatever. So, we just want to … In the end, we just have to find ways to win games so we wouldn’t be in that situation from the get-go – that’s what it’s all about.”
Bynes is correct in the fact that if the Ravens were successful in their attempt to win the game, the mood surrounding the team would be a lot different. The linebacker clearly conveyed his appreciation for his coach and the decision that he made. As Bynes also talks about, hopefully moving forward the team can put themselves in situations where a game doesn’t have to be decided on a two-point conversion, instead winning the contest far before that point.