“Where Are Your Harballs Man?”: John Harbaugh’s Justification for Late Punt Against the Bills Draws Redditors’ Ire

Hopefully, you didn’t go to bed early last night. If you did, you missed one of the best Sunday Night Football games in NFL history. The Buffalo Bills trailed 40-25 against the Baltimore Ravens with just over four minutes left. Yet somehow, Josh Allen engineered a stunning comeback, capped by a game-winning field goal as time expired for a 41-40 victory.

Now, fans turn their attention toward Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and his puzzling late-game decision-making.

We could point to how the Ravens lost their aggressiveness in the final minutes. We could also note how their defense collapsed after looking like world-beaters all night. But the real talking point is Harbaugh’s choice to punt on 4th-and-3 with 1:33 left in the game.

Let’s be fair, it was a tough call. If the Ravens failed to convert, the Bills would’ve taken over already in field-goal range. But had they picked up the first down, the game likely would’ve been over. Instead, Harbaugh opted to play it safe and punt, pinning Allen and the Bills at their own 20-yard line.

It was a questionable call when considering all the factors. Jackson and Derrick Henry had been carving up Buffalo’s defense all night. But a fumble on the previous drive made Harbaugh seemingly hesitant to give it back to his star running back. 

After the game, here’s what the Ravens coach had to say about the decision to punt.

“I did think about going for it. If it’s fourth-and-3, if you don’t get it, they’re in field goal range. So, I think punting it is probably what most people would do there,” Harbaugh said, via NBC Sports.

It is probably what most people would do in that instance. However, this is the NFL. Sometimes you have to take a gamble and throw the analytics out the window. That’s exactly what fans are saying Harbaugh should know by now, having led the team for 18 seasons.

When those frustrated fans on Reddit came across Harbaugh’s comments, some even questioned whether the former Super Bowl champion still has the killer instinct.

“Where are your Harballs man,” one fan playfully asked.

“This the same John Harbaugh that asked Lamar if he wanted to go for it up 1 on 4th &1 vs the Chiefs several years ago? Taking the ball out of your best players hands and giving it to the other teams best player is forfeiting the game when youre only up by 2,” another wrote.

“He’s lost his killer instinct he had,” another suggested.

One sarcastic fan even took the time to lay out the situation and why Harbaugh should’ve gone for it. 

“It would take a really special talent like Lamar Jackson or Derrick Henry to go for it on 4th down, so I get it. Oh wait,” someone joked.

The fans really took the time to roast Harbaugh for the decision to punt. And honestly, he deserved every bit of the criticism, mainly because this is a recurring pattern that needs to be addressed.

At the end of the day, Harbaugh made the wrong decision. The Bills and Allen drove 66 yards and kicked a field goal as time expired, effectively putting a bow on one of the best comebacks in SNF history. 

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a tough call. It’s just that these types of last-munute calls have continued to annoy Ravens fans over the years. Why take the ball out of Lamar’s hands in the clutch? This is now 7 instances of the team choking away a 10+ point lead since 2022- the most in the NFL. It’s time for Harbaugh to stop playing it safe and take some risks, or else he’ll never touch another Lombardi Trophy.