Ravens Vs. Jets: New York’s Anemic Final Drive Ends With Dustin Keller Mental Miscue

It seemed like the Ravens did the Jets a huge favor by trying to throw the ball on 3rd down in their last meaningful possession of the game. The incomplete pass by Joe Flacco left the Jets offense with about 1:40 on the clock and still one of their timeouts.

Of course, there was a reason why the Ravens felt like they could take that risk. Up until that point, the Jets had yet to convert a third down on offense and had fewer than 150 total yards.

Needing only a field goal to win, the Jets could get nothing but dump passes for minimal yardage, each of which kept the clock running. While they managed to make their only third down conversion of the game, the Jets ended up turning the ball over on downs when tight end Dustin Keller caught a ball running toward the sideline and neglecting to make an easy necessary stretch for a first down.

Keller had been blasted by Ray Lewis two plays earlier when Mark Sanchez tried to hit him over the middle near the first down mark. It’s foolish to speculate whether he was still shaken up on the fourth down play, but his mistake was a huge one whatever the cause.

At this point, the Jets have to pin the hopes of an offensive improvement on receiver Santonio Holmes being added to the equation once his suspension is over after their fourth game. They certainly could have used him against Baltimore, as Holmes has something of a reputation of being a Ravens killer. He has scored a touchdown in each of his last seven meetings with the Ravens.