Ravens head coach John Harbaugh infamously implied that the Patriots were bending rules after his team’s loss to New England in the playoffs a few years back, but apparently Harbaugh’s team is the one the NFL is now keeping an eye on.
During their win over the Steelers last week, the Ravens ran a play where tight end Maxx Williams lined up behind where a guard would typically line up, and Joe Flacco ended up completing a 22-yard pass to Williams. While he was technically eligible, Williams lined up close to the line of scrimmage, which led to some confusion.
That’s exactly what Tom Brady and the Patriots did to the Ravens in the divisional round of the playoffs in 2015. While the play is technically legal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media noted on Sunday that officials are still able to call an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty if they feel there is intentional deception with the eligible receiver. Going forward, there is expected to be extra attention given to such plays.
With the war of words that took place after the Patriots ran that formation against Baltimore, some will say Harbaugh is a hypocrite for employing a strategy he felt undermined the integrity of the game — or so he said after a tough loss.
