Ravens could have tried to get closer for fateful field-goal try

The regular season ended with a thrilling 15 minutes of football, featuring four lead changes. There was almost a fifth, but Ravens kicker Tyler Loop's 44-yard attempt sailed wide.

Here's something we discussed on Monday's PFT Live: Should the Ravens have tried to get the ball closer?

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After an incredible catch on fourth and seven by tight end Isaiah Likely, the Ravens had the ball at Pittsburgh's 24. Fourteen seconds remained. The Ravens had one timeout left.

They could have tried to gain more ground before the field goal attempt. With a timeout in hand, the Steelers defense would have been required to defend the entire field. A safe play call would have minimized the chances of a turnover. Getting the ball closer to the end zone would have reduced the chances of a miss.

Instead, the Ravens surrendered two yards, with quarterback Lamar Jackson receiving the snap and taking a knee in the middle of the field. A 42-yard kick became a 44-yard attempt.

If the kick had been good, it wouldn't matter. But the possibility of a miss, even in the current age of cyborg kickers who make 60-yard field goals seem like chip shots, misfires still happen. And Acrisure Stadium has never been a kicker-friendly venue.

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It's always better, and safer, to try a shorter kick. But for the rare effort that starts wide and somehow glides back to the target, the shorter the kick, the greater the chance of making it.

The same thing happened on Saturday night. The Seahawks, after using a formation on fourth and a long one that wasn't going to fool the 49ers into jumping early, took a five-yard penalty for delay of game in lieu of calling a timeout. Five yards back, the 26-yard kick clanked against the upright.

The miss didn't matter, because the Seahawks continued to throttle the San Francisco offense. But the point stands: Always embrace a closer kick.

The Ravens had a chance to do that on Sunday night. The fact that the strategy they employed didn't work makes it fair to ask whether they should have taken advantage of it. And it's a factor for other coaches to file away when making critical decisions at the end of a game.