Former Baltimore Ravens running back Mark Ingram has a simple explanation for the team’s playoff loss against the Buffalo Bills — you can’t beat yourself.
The Ravens came up just short in their bid to defeat the Bills in the divisional round of the playoffs when they lost 27-25.
Baltimore had an opportunity to tie the game at 27-all late in the fourth quarter. However, Mark Andrew dropped the game-tying two-point conversion after the Ravens had scored a touchdown with 1:33 left in the game.
While the Ravens had their opportunity to tie the game at the end, they still lost the turnover battle after committing three turnovers — two by Lamar Jackson, one by Andrews — while the Bills committed zero turnovers.
”The thing that’s so intriguing about the NFL is it’s a tournament,” Ingram told The Sports Daily in an exclusive interview. “The NBA has a playoff, they play seven games, NHL playoffs, seven games, MLB plays seven games. There’s a one-game elimination in the NFL playoffs. If you go out there on the road, and you have three turnovers, and you have mistakes, and you have drops, and you have turnovers and allow big plays, then you go home. That’s just the unfortunate part of it.”
The Ravens have all of the ingredients of a great team. They have a two-time MVP and arguably the best quarterback in the game in Jackson, one of the best tight ends in the league in Andrews and an elite rushing attack led by former Offensive Player of the Year Derrick Henry.
In fact, Baltimore finished with the AFC’s best record last year and finished with a top record this season, winning the AFC North with a 12-5 record.
However, all it takes is one bad day in the playoffs to end your season. That’s essentially what happened with the Ravens after losing the turnover battle and committing one too many turnovers.
“They have the team, they have the personnel, they have the coaching, they have the quarterback,” says Ingram of the Ravens. “It’s just when it comes to the games that matter the most in the postseason, you can’t beat yourself. That’s what we’ve been seeing happen with the Ravens the past two years.”
The Ravens were eliminated in the AFC Championship Game last season against the Kansas City Chiefs despite hosting the game. Baltimore also committed three turnovers compared to Kansas City’s turnover-less game in their 17-10 loss. In other words, it essentially mirrored their loss to the Bills.
“ Last year we saw them just kind of not look like themselves in a playoff game,” says Ingram. “They barely ran the football, almost still came back, but ended up losing that game versus the Chiefs.
“The Chiefs don’t beat themselves,” Ingram continues to say. “You can’t help the Chiefs because they don’t beat themselves. They have Patrick Mahomes. If you give them extra opportunities, it’s hard to beat them. Then we saw this year, two turnovers in the first half and the turnover late in the game.”
Ingram: Mark Andrews a ‘Fierce Competitor’ Who Will Bounce Back
Although Andrews has seen a ton of criticism and blame for the team’s loss due to his fumble and his dropped pass in the fourth quarter, there were a number of mistakes made by the team throughout the game, as Ingram points out.
”I saw some missed opportunities throughout that game, towards the end of that game that would help tie the game,” says Ingram. “You can never blame it on one person. It’s a team game and there’s so many things that happen throughout the game that can affect the outcome. I just think that they have to focus on not beating themselves and putting themselves in the best opportunity to be successful, which they are capable of doing, but they haven’t been able to do it in the playoffs.”
The Ravens have struggled in the playoffs in the Jackson era. Despite racking up five double digit win seasons in Jackson’s six seasons starting in Baltimore, the Ravens have gone just 3-5 in the playoffs — Jackson missed one of those losses — and have failed to advance to the Super Bowl.
Despite those playoff setbacks, Ingram made sure to text Jackson — his former teammate — after the game some words of encouragement.
”I talked to Lamar,” says Ingram. “I texted him after the game. I just told him to keep his head up. I said, ‘You’re the greatest.’ The man is just special. He’s a special talent and despite those turnovers, they had a chance to tie the game and prolong the game in overtime if the defense would have got a stop.”
And while Andrews had two critical mistakes late in the game, Ingram made sure to compliment his former teammate.
”I haven’t been able to speak to Mark, but I know everyone in that Raven organization, everyone around him is lifting him up, trying to encourage him,” says Ingram of Andrews. “I know the competitor that he is, I know he’s not happy about the fourth quarter of that game or the entirety of that game. He’s one of the best tight ends in the game.”
The 29-year-old tight end is one of the best at his position, posting three Pro Bowl appearances and an All-Pro selection over the past six seasons. He has the most receiving touchdowns and the third-most receptions and receiving yards of any tight end since the 2019 season.
”He’s one of the fiercest competitors in that locker room,” says Ingram of his former teammate. “He holds himself to a high standard, a high regard. As bad as anyone feels about it, he feels 10 times worse. I love Mark Andrews. He’s a tremendous player and he’s going to bounce back 100%.”
Ingram Partners With Intuit
Ingram is partnering up with Intuit Quickbooks as part of their “Your Way to Money” campaign. The campaign spotlights Ingram’s connection to New Orleans-based small business Kern Studios. Kern Studios is a family-run business that creats fabricated props and parade floats.
The 35-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner spoke of why he decided to partner up with Quickbooks a few months ago.
”I teamed up with Quickboots because small businesses are important to me,” says Ingram. “I think they’re the heartbeat of America. I think they’re the heartbeat of our community.”
Ingram says that his national television spot with Quickbooks will debut during the conference championship games this weekend.
“They kind of just help all these small businesses get a handle on the business plan so they can be prepared for game day just like us as athletes,” says Ingram. “The fun thing about it is, I’ll be in a national television spot. It’ll be streamed on Fox and it’ll highlight New Orleans’ Kern Studios as they prepare for this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans. The spot will be on during the NFC Championship game on January 26th. I’m excited to celebrate Kern Studios because they’re truly New Orleans through and through.”
