The Ravens suffered another tough loss Monday night when they fell to the Arizona Cardinals 28-16.
Even though a national TV audience watched the game and dissected the key plays, the coaching film provides a unique look back.
Here's a look at what you might have missed, and all of these plays can be viewed on NFL Game Pass, which is available to purchase:
Another Look At Flacco's Interception
The Ravens' bid at a comeback ended when quarterback Joe Flacco's pass for tight end Crockett Gillmore end up in the hands of safety Tony Jefferson. Looking at the coaching tape from the end zone angle shows a few things that went wrong on the play. Flacco said he didn't want to leave the ball short of the end zone, but he could have fired a dart to Gillmore at the goal line rather than lofting the pass off his back foot. Also, Jefferson clearly created separation from Gillmore by giving him a push in the back. The officials decided to hold the flag – the call could have gone either way – but it was another example of the Ravens being on the wrong side of close calls this year.
Upshaw Controls Line of Scrimmage
Outside linebacker Courtney Upshaw played his best game of the season, according to Pro Football Focus, and this third-quarter stop is an example of why he graded out so highly. Upshaw is known as an edge setting run defender, and he demonstrated that on this play by tossing aside wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and then shoving tight end Troy Niklas back a few yards to make the stop on running back Chris Johnson in the backfield. Defensive end Chris Canty also broke through the line of scrimmage on the play to get in on the tackle.
Mosley Doesn't Give Up
Second-year linebacker C.J. Mosley had a strong outing against Arizona, finishing the game with four tackles and a sack. The sack came on a third-down blitz on Arizona's opening drive of the game. Mosley did a nice job of finding space to get into the backfield, and then he never gave up on the play. Even after initially running past quarterback Carson Palmer, Mosley turned back around and brought down the quarterback for a sack.
Later in the game, Mosley may have come up with an even more impressive play on the goal line. He ran through the line of scrimmage and collided with Pro Bowl left guard Mike Iupati, who weighs 331 pounds. Mosley is listed as 235 pounds, but the much smaller linebacker knocked the lineman off his feet to blow the play up in the backfield.
Cardinals Clearly Stopped On Johnson's Long Run
A hotly discussed play after Monday's game came in the third quarter when Johnson ran for 62 yards after it looked like his forward progress was clearly stopped. Defensive tackle Brandon Williams wrapped up Johnson on the play, but ultimately let him go when everyone around him was under the impression that the play was dead. The end-zone copy of the coaching film shows three Cardinals linemen standing near Johnson, but no longer blocking. Cardinals guard Jonathan Cooper actually looks like he goes to help up Johnson before the running back stands up and takes off down the field.
