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Despite allowing the Falcons to convert 12-of-20 third downs, letting Matt Ryan pick them apart through the air to the tune of 316 yards, and not forcing a single turnover on the night, the Ravens' defense still had a chance to make up for it all.
All they needed to do was stop Atlanta from driving for a game-winning score with about a minute left.
Unfortunately, they couldn't get it done. And that's starting to become somewhat of a trend.
Matt Ryan and the Falcons got the ball at their own 20-yard line and promptly marched 80 yards in just 45 seconds.
Ryan completed just three passes on the drive, but that was all he needed.
24 yards to Michael Jenkins along the sideline. First down. 15 yards short left to Roddy White. First down. Pass interference on Tavares Gooden. First down.
33 yards to White. Touchdown. Game over.
Just like that, after battling all the way back from 13 points down in the fourth quarter, the Ravens' only lead of the game was gone.
"That's when you've got to come up with a stop, and we were unable to do that," head coach John Harbaugh told reporters after the game. "There were different things that happened during the course of that drive, and that's just the way it went, but it's up to us to find a way to get them stopped."
This is a Ravens defense that traditionally prides itself on making leads stand up and carrying the team in clutch situations. But I don't know if we can look at this year's defense in the same way that we have those before it.
The Baltimore defense has now blown a fourth quarter lead for the third time this season, and this marks the second time they've allowed the game-tying or go-ahead score with under two minutes left.
Normally, when the Ravens have a one-point edge with a minute and five seconds left, you can go ahead and put the game in the books. Don't even bother watching that final minute-plus, the Ravens will lock the thing down.
You can't say that these days.
Don't think for one second that Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and the Ravens can't turn this around and get the defense back on track. We've seen enough of those guys to know that despite a few poor performances, they're still capable of great things. And hey, given the incredibly short week and the amount of time they were on the field yesterday, a bit of a fourth quarter letdown is almost - almost - understandable.
But in crunch time this season, when they've needed to make one big stop late in the game, the Ravens can't get it done. A defense that used to look superhuman now looks just, well, human.
Ravens fans have to hope that this isn't a problem that lingers much longer than the plane ride back to Baltimore.
