The Ravens hacked NFL overtime to beat the Falcons

It’s always fascinating when a team breaks the conventional rules of the NFL to find a new exploit. That’s exactly what the Ravens did in overtime on Sunday night, robbing the Falcons of any opportunity to even really play in the extra period and seal the victory on the road, 30-23.

Kyle Hamilton won the toss for Baltimore in overtime and made the unheard-of decision to receive the ball. Logic dictates that since the advent of two-possession overtime, a team always, ALWAYS kicks first. The idea here is that it’s much better to put the pressure on an offense to perform early, while also giving your own offense an idea of what they need to do in order to win. Going on offense first also carries the inherent risk that if you have to punt, the opposition will win the game on a field goal. It also puts pressure on an offense to push for a TD when they might otherwise settle for a field goal, adding another level of anxiety.

Ravens head coach Jesse Minter chose a very different path. He was going to take the ball first, and just prevent the Falcons from ever having a real shot at winning the game.

Using a heavy dose of Derrick Henry and short passing from Tyler Huntley, the Ravens executed a 14-play, 7:03-minute touchdown drive that both moved the ball all the way down the field for a touchdown, but critically forced the Falcons to use both of their timeouts, while leaving fewer than 3 minutes left on the clock.

Henry ran the ball six times on the drive, the longest pass completion was for 10 yards. So much time was taken off the clock that when Baltimore was at 2nd and goal it was almost as if the Falcons had to the let them score, just to ensure they had a chance to possess the ball.

There was intentionality behind never breaking a big play, even when one may have been available. The goal was to always choke the clock, because that would make the Atlanta offense one-dimensional. If the Ravens could force the Falcons to have to pass in order to win, then it took away their most consistent offensive weapon in Bijan Robinson. The was compounded by the fact that Michael Penix Jr. was banged up on a big sack, meaning either he would need to play hurt — or Tua Tagovailoa would need to try and throw to keep Atlanta in the game.

It ended up being Tua’s number, and he forced a pass on Atlanta’s second play over overtime, which was intercepted by Hamilton and sealed the game.

All of this was possible because the Ravens had the stones to defy all logic about overtime and believe in their ability to grind out the win. It’s going to be fascinating to see if more teams study this game and try to follow suit.