With a 7 point lead and just 11 seconds on the clock, the last thing the Ravens wanted to do is give the ball back to the Bengals. With a stroke of genius, Coaches John Harbaugh and Jerry Rosberg ordered the Baltimore special teams to commit holding on every single Bengals player.
Ravens win by holding Bengals intentionally and delaying safety, there’s no time extension for the flags pic.twitter.com/cL9AdJaIwv
— Vikings Blogger (@firstandskol) November 27, 2016
The penalty warranted a 10 second run-off, and when combined with giving up a meaningless safety, the game was over by the time the play was done. Since they are trying to prevent the opposite team from scoring, the usual definition of “defense”—the “game can’t end on a defensive penalty” rule does not apply to the Ravens in this situation.
