In their 23-7 victory against the Broncos, the Baltimore Ravens ran a rushing play as time expired to tie a record. Denver coach Vic Fangio isn’t happy about it.
“Yeah, I thought it was kinda (expletive), but I expected it from them,” Fangio said during his Monday press conference. “Thirty-seven years in pro ball, I’ve never seen anything like that. But it was to be expected, and we expected it.”
The Ravens intercepted a Drew Lock pass late in the fourth quarter that all but ended the game. But rather than calling a kneel down like teams almost always do when a game has been decided, Ravens coach John Harbaugh asked quarterback Lamar Jackson to keep the ball on a shotgun snap. Jackson bounced left and ended up with 5 yards to give the Ravens 102 rushing yards on the day. That marked the 43rd consecutive game that Baltimore had rushed for at least 100 yards, tying the NFL record set by the 1974-77 Pittsburgh Steelers.
When asked why Fangio expected it, he said it was “because I just know how they operate.”
NFL WEEK 4 WINNERS, LOSERS: Kyler Murray, Cardinals have statement win; Tom Brady gets bragging rights
MORE: 32 things we learned from Week 4 of 2021 NFL season
Fangio has some interesting experience in that regard. From 2006-09, Fangio served as a defensive assistant coach for Baltimore. When Fangio first arrived to the team, Brian Billick was the head coach, but Harbaugh was Fangio’s boss for the last two of his four seasons there. He went on to serve as defensive coordinator for Jim Harbaugh the next five years for the Stanford Cardinal and San Francisco 49ers.
“That’s just their mode of operation,” Fangio said of the Ravens. “Player safety is secondary.”
The Ravens do have a history of pushing the limits on rules. In December, the NFL fined the Ravens $250,000 for violating COVID-19 protocols after an outbreak that forced multiple game postponements and around two dozen positive tests among players and personnel. In June 2018, the NFL fined Harbaugh and the Ravens for violating offseason workout contact rules.
“I thought we were on good terms,” Harbaugh said on Monday when asked about Fangio’s remark. “We had a nice chat before the game. We’ve known each other for a long time. But I promise you, I’m not going to give that insult one second thought. What’s meaningful with us might not be meaningful with them. Their concerns are definitely not our concerns.”
The Ravens will have the chance to break the NFL record next Monday night in a game against the Indianapolis Colts.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Broncos coach Vic Fangio blasts Ravens: ‘Player safety is secondary’
Read more: https://sports.yahoo.com/broncos-coach-vic-fangio-rips-182534131.html?src=rss
