Ravens vs. Cardinals: Score and Twitter Reaction for Monday Night Football

Another week, another heartbreak for the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens fell to 1-6 on the season with Monday night's 26-18 loss to the 5-2 Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium, but they once again had an opportunity to win late in the game. However, Tony Jefferson picked off Joe Flacco in the end zone with seconds remaining, and the Cardinals survived a late scare in a game they fully controlled until the final minutes.

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted just how many missed chances Baltimore fans have suffered through this year:

While the Ravens will rue the game's final sequence, Arizona was the better team for most of the contest. It held a 26-10 lead with just more than eight minutes left but proceeded to miss an extra point, have a punt get blocked, surrender a touchdown on the next play and allow the ensuing two-point conversion. The Cardinals' Carson Palmer also committed an inexplicable intentional grounding penalty in the last five minutes as Baltimore stayed within striking distance.

Arizona's Chris Johnson ran for 122 yards and a score and made some team history in the process, as Cardinals vice president of media relations Mark Dalton noted:

Arizona receivers John Brown and Michael Floyd each caught a touchdown pass as well, and Palmer avoided turnovers on his way to 275 passing yards and two scores. As for the Ravens, no player ran for more than Justin Forsett's 36 yards, and Flacco threw for 252 yards, a touchdown and the deciding interception.

The teams traded scores in the first half, and the Cardinals took a 14-10 lead into the locker rooms. Forsett found the end zone for Baltimore on a 14-yard run, and Floyd answered for Arizona with a three-yard touchdown catch a minute before halftime. However, it was Johnson who turned heads with a 26-yard score in the first quarter. NFL Network shared video of the play:

The fact that the 30-year-old Johnson is still making defenders miss at this stage of his career impressed Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com:

Johnson wasn't the only veteran making plays during Monday's game, though. The Ravens received the ball to start the second half, but Cardinals outside linebacker Dwight Freeney ended their drive when he recorded his first sack for Arizona after 11 years with the Indianapolis Colts and two with the San Diego Chargers.

The Cardinals parlayed the stop into a field goal on the subsequent possession to open up a 17-10 lead. Palmer hit Brown for 35 yards to set up the three points, and Adam Green of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM commented on the connection:

The Cardinals added another field goal late in the third quarter to push their advantage to 20-10. The drive was defined by a 62-yard run by Johnson. Baltimore appeared to stop the running back, but he rolled over Brandon Williams and kept going until he was inside the red zone.

Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com noted the Ravens had a legitimate case that they had stopped Johnson's forward progress:

Baltimore, however, appeared confused by the outcome:

The Ravens may have been searching for answers on that defensive play, but their offense is what sputtered throughout much of the second half. Sports Illustrated pointed to one problem:

"

Joe Flacco came into the game tied for 27th in yards per completion (10.4). Only at 9.1 tonight. Ravens really hurting for big plays.

— SI NFL (@si_nfl) October 27, 2015"

Lack of offense was not a concern on the other sideline, as the Palmer-Brown combination created critical separation in the fourth quarter with a four-yard touchdown pass. Chandler Catanzaro missed the ensuing extra point, but Arizona still led 26-10. Dalton noted Palmer jumped Donovan McNabb (37,276) for 20th on the NFL's all-time passing yards list during the drive.

Bo Smolka of CSN Mid-Atlantic highlighted one issue for the Baltimore defense:

"

Not saying covering these AZ WRs is easy, but when Webb plays 10 yards off the line, quick pass to Floyd is, well, easy. #RavensTalk

— Bo Smolka (@bsmolka) October 27, 2015"

Just when it looked like the game was over, Asa Jackson blocked a punt to set the Ravens up at the Cardinals 1-yard line with less than five minutes remaining. Baltimore cashed in the opportunity when Flacco hit Kyle Juszczyk for a touchdown and Nick Boyle for a two-point conversion to trim the lead to 26-18. The NFL passed along video of Jackson's play:

Things took another worrisome turn for Arizona as it was attempting to run out the clock. Palmer was called for intentional grounding on a second-down play that essentially ended the drive. Peter Bukowski of Sports Illustrated was not impressed by the play call:

After the Cardinals punted, Flacco connected with Marlon Brown, Crockett Gillmore and Chris Givens to get the Ravens inside the 5-yard line, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports pointed to the Cardinals' near-crippling mistakes down the stretch:

But Jefferson saved the game for the home team by picking off Flacco in the end zone. Just like that, Arizona was 5-2.

What's Next?

The Ravens face a short turnaround as they return home from out West to face the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

It will be a battle of disappointing AFC playoff hopefuls with the 1-6 Ravens and the 2-5 Chargers playing what feels like an elimination contest. Baltimore has an open week after that and then home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and St. Louis Rams. The three-game homestand could be the team's chance to get in position for a postseason spot.

As for the victorious Cardinals, they also face a short turnaround and will hit the road to square off with the 2-5 Cleveland Browns before their open week. They then face a formidable stretch against the Seattle Seahawks and Cincinnati Bengals. How division-leading Arizona fares against the two-time defending NFC champions and the undefeated Bengals could determine its fate.

Monday's win was critical with those showdowns looming.

Postgame Reaction

On the Ravens' side, discussion turned to the final drive. Wide receiver Steve Smith said the team's headsets went out during the possession, which caused confusion since Baltimore doesn't have much practice using "sign language," per James Palmer of NFL Network.

Flacco reiterated that point, per Smolka, saying it was "way too hectic" and "guys were just confused, and rightfully so."

Smith didn't just point to the headset issue while commenting on the loss. He said he would give the referees a 2-star performance on Yelp if he were asked to provide a review, per Palmer.

The Ravens were understandably frustrated, but the Cardinals were the team that nearly blew a commanding lead. Arizona head coach Bruce Arians addressed that, per ESPN.com: "A lot of things happened during the game. Good, bad and one ugly one, but we finished and made a great play at the end."

This was the Cardinals' first win by single digits, and their last three victories came by an average of 30 points. Arians talked about finally winning a close one, per the Associated Press (via the Los Angeles Times): "We wanted to be in these types of games to see if we can win it, but we exorcised that 'Can-we-win-it-at-the-end?' thing. So, I was very, very pleased."