How a one-second mistake from a rookie saw the Ravens’ season come to an end

You live and you learn. But some people have to learn harder than others. Sometimes you can afford to make a simple mistake and deal with light consequences; other times it really is best to just not touch the flame and take someone else’s word for it being hot.

Poor Tyler Loop. The Ravens rookie stepped up to keep his team’s season alive, and missed. The kick, which was hit with two seconds left on the clock, was spooned high and wide, sailing past the post. Heads met hands and the 44-yard field goal split from the timeline and into a parallel Universe.

The miss meant the Pittsburgh Steelers had made it to the playoffs and they duly celebrated around Loop’s doom-stricken complexion of horror painted underneath a helmet that did nothing to conceal the anguish. Swallow me up, World, a mere mortal would think in this moment, allow the forces of Nature that control everything living and dead to break their rules of anonymity just this once and press pause on stability. Swallow me into the ground.

But this is elite sport, and elite mentalities are needed. Instead of hiding, he thrust his grief-filled forward and into the limelight.

“I just mishit the ball... for that to happen tonight sucks”

“I just mishit the ball... For it to end like that sucks, and I want to do better,” Loop said. “Unfortunately, the nature of the job is you have makes, and those are awesome, and unfortunately, you have misses, and for that to happen tonight sucks.”

“The second it made contact with my foot, I felt it lower,” Loop, who had made 90% of his field goal tries (30-of-33) and prior to Week 18 was perfect on every field goal attempt from 0-49 yards, said. “We talk about hitting on the fourth lace of the shoe. It felt a little lower down the foot and hit it thin.”

“I couldn’t even remember [what was going through his mind at the time]. It just sucks.”

Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who put an arm around the rookie as he crawled back to the dressing room, said it was “a close kick,” adding that “you want to center the ball. We wanted to make sure we got the kick. We didn’t want something bad to happen on the run. I don’t think that was a bad decision.”

Loop said Harbaugh told him to “[get] back in the saddle”, and that he said Loop is not off kicking duty: “‘You’re going to have more [kicks],” Loop recited, “You have to get ready. It sucks, and we have your back, but we have to go.’”

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The Ravens (8-9) missed the playoffs for the first time since 2021 and handed their opponents on the night the AFC North title. But with Loop’s mentality in the side, shown by his capacity to face the media in the aftermath, they are in good hands.

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