INDIANAPOLIS -- A series of mistakes led to the Baltimore Ravens' 20-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, and the last one was the most gut-wrenching of them all.
I'm sick right now...never been in this position before...very trying times for me on and off the field but I will be better from this
— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) October 5, 2014Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco saw exactly what he wanted to from the Colts' defense before taking the snap on fourth down in the game's final minute. The Colts were again bringing pressure, and Torrey Smith drew single coverage on a go route. In Flacco's mind, the Ravens couldn't have drawn this up any better.
But Flacco's pass bounced off Smith's hands at the Colts' 25-yard line, ending the Ravens' three-game winning streak and continuing a nightmare of a season for the struggling wide receiver. Smith sat there on the ground and pounded both fists on the turf.
Smith declined to talk to reporters after the game but posted on Twitter:
Smith, the Ravens' leading receiver a year ago, is on pace for career lows. He is currently fifth on the team with 11 receptions and trails Dennis Pitta, who hasn't played the past two games.
At this point, it's a question of whether his struggles are mental. There's a lot of pressure on Smith because this is a contract year.
The Ravens (3-2) have repeatedly expressed confidence in Smith, and Flacco called him a 100-catch receiver a few weeks ago. Defenses still respect Smith's speed, and he's drawn an NFL-leading six pass interference penalties this season.
Flacco showed his trust in Smith by going to him twice on the final drive. Smith was unable to catch a third-and-3 pass from Flacco even though he got both hands on the low pass. After the Ravens converted a fourth down with an 18-yard pass to tight end Owen Daniels, they faced another fourth down with 39 seconds remaining.
Flacco had two options: Steve Smith on an 8-yard stop route against press coverage or Torrey Smith on a deep route.
"If they wanted to play man or if they wanted to give us a shot, we had to take it," said Flacco, who was 22-of-38 for 235 yards. "At that point in the game, you were really looking to get a shot like that and take it. It's not necessarily we have to convert the fourth down. But if we converted, we still had to get to a point where they would allow us to take some kind of shot. So that was just as good of a chance as ever and we just didn't make the play."
Smith, who had problems holding onto the ball as a rookie, had only five drops last season (tied for 38th in the NFL), according to Pro Football Focus research. He had two drops before failing to pull in the last pass from Flacco.
"It was catchable. I mean it was a tough catch," Harbaugh said of the Ravens' final play. "It was a challenging play to make. Very challenging play to make. Those are not plays you see made every play in the National Football League."
It was fitting how the Ravens were unable to make the Colts pay for blitzing them right up to the final play. Flacco was sacked four times Sunday, more than he was in his first four games combined.
He was under duress on a season-high 26 percent of his dropbacks against the Colts, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. He was 1-of-7 for 26 yards in those situations.
"When they come after us, there was a spot to go with the ball and we weren't quite able to make those plays," Flacco said. "You've got to credit those guys for having the confidence to come after it and cover in the back end and do their thing. We wished we could have hurt them a little bit more because they did come after us a little bit and you want to take advantage of that."
