Lamar Jackson Forced John Harbaugh to Make Painful Call That Ends Up Losing Ravens the Game

The 2025 NFL season couldn’t have started with a more dramatic finish. The Baltimore Ravens, led by Lamar Jackson, were up 40-25 late in the game’s fourth quarter. But those final 3:56 minutes proved too long as a crushing sequence turned victory into heartbreak.

Jackson, who had already racked up 209 passing yards and two touchdowns, had carried the Ravens through a seesaw battle. Derrick Henry was a force on the ground, exploding for 169 yards and two rushing scores. Yet, in the final minutes, it was a strategic decision by head coach John Harbaugh that would define the outcome.

According to reports, Harbaugh seriously considered going for it on a critical late fourth down. As Cordell Woodland noted on Twitter, “John Harbaugh said he thought about going for the late 4th down but they ultimately didn’t. ‘I think punting is what most people would do there.’ Lamar also said he was cramping at that time. If he wasn’t then he would’ve pushed to go for it.”

Instead, the Ravens punted, giving the Bills one final possession. Josh Allen, showing poise and precision, orchestrated a 66-yard, nine-play drive in just over a minute and a half. With the clock expiring, Matt Prater’s 32-yard field goal gave Buffalo a stunning 41–40 win.

“We’re disappointed but we’ll be fine. We’ll go back to work,” Harbaugh said after the game, as Jeff Zrebiec reported. It was a sentiment heavy with resilience, but impossible to ignore the sting of what could have been.

The game was an epic showcase of contrasting styles, Jackson’s agile, playmaking brilliance versus Allen’s calm, methodical execution. The Ravens’ offensive surge in the second and third quarters, capped by Lamar’s touchdown passes to Zay Flowers and DeAndre Hopkins, had fans on the edge of their seats. Yet, the Bills’ late fourth-quarter heroics, including Josh Allen’s two rushing touchdowns and a key Keon Coleman reception, flipped the script, which had its fair share of head scratchers.

Lamar Jackson’s team didn’t keep time

The Bills and Ravens were supposed to open their seasons with fireworks. They did. Points were flying, stars were flashing, and the tempo felt exactly like you’d script for a prime time debut. And yet, nobody could have predicted what happened right before the half-time break.

Josh Allen zipped one to Dalton Kincaid near the sideline, a routine move to squeeze out whatever was left on the clock. Marlon Humphrey shoved him out, the Ravens figured the half was over, and they drifted toward the tunnel led by Lamar Jackson. Problem solved, right? Not exactly.

The referee wasn’t buying it. He pulled the players back, pointed to the scoreboard, and ruled there was still one tick left. One second. That was all Buffalo needed. A quick setup, Matt Prater trotting out, and suddenly three points went on the board. What should’ve been a ten-point cushion turned into seven. Ravens 13, Bills 20.

It wasn’t a backbreaking swing at the moment, but in a game that ended 41–40, every detail matters. Especially the kind that comes wrapped in confusion, frustration, and that oh-no realization as you’re jogging to the locker room. Baltimore had controlled large chunks of the first half, but slips like this, mental, procedural, whatever you want to call it, handed Buffalo momentum and points for free.

Games aren’t just won on touchdowns and turnovers. Sometimes, it’s one second that does you in.