John Harbaugh, J.K. Dobbins throw Tyler Huntley under the bus for Ravens loss

January 16, 2023 ndowd

The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, with Sam Hubbard’s fumble return serving as the vital blow. Tyler Huntley was the victim postgame.

Sam Hubbard returned a Tyler Huntley’s quarterback sneak fumble 98 yards for a touchdown, giving Cincinnati a surprising lead, and forcing Baltimore to reassess its strategy. Huntley was playing injured, and put forth a valiant effort all things considered. For much of the game, Huntley was the Ravens offensive strength — though two turnovers cost Baltimore down the stretch.

Huntley threw an ugly interception in the first half. However, it was his attempted quarterback sneak which would cost Baltimore most. With a chance to take the lead, Huntley stretched out the football in an attempt to break the plane of the goal line. Huntley failed to do so, and an athletic play from the Bengals allotted Sam Hubbard the chance of a lifetime.

Oh. My. God. Tyler Huntley fumbles trying to go over the goal-line and Sam Hubbard takes it back the other way 98 yards for a Bengals TD.

A 14-point swing.pic.twitter.com/5J88HykccP

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 16, 2023

Safe to say, Hubbard needed some oxygen on the sideline after that defensive touchdown.

Ravens throw Tyler Huntley under the bus

Emotions were high for the Ravens postgame, and despite playing injured, Tyler Huntley received some unnecessary blowback. First, it was head coach John Harbaugh who stated that Huntley was supposed to go low, rather than high, on his QB sneak. Had he gone low, the ball wouldn’t have been at risk.

Then, running back J.K. Dobbins stated that he wished he’d received the carry, and that the team would’ve won with Lamar Jackson starting at quarterback. Ouch.

J.K. Dobbins said he’s tired of not getting the ball, tired of being held back. Said Huntley should have never been in that position on sneak. And then he added, “If we would’ve had Lamar, we would’ve won, too.”

— Jeff Zrebiec (@jeffzrebiec) January 16, 2023

Huntley thought he could extend the ball past the goal line, but unfortunately did not have the length necessary to get there, and was met halfway.

“At the time, I just felt like everybody was packed in, they shot for our linemen’s legs, the ‘backers felt pretty good up at the line. I just tried to make a play,” Huntley said, via the team’s website. “I’m going to be thinking about that the whole offseason, how just one play, they won the game. It’s going to be hard, but it’s going to motivate me to grind hard, work hard, and be ready for next year.”

He is a restricted free agent this offseason, and given the way his teammates and head coach refused to take some blame, he’ll have more to think about than just that fumble.

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