In a sense, the Ravens suffered two defeats on Sunday.

There was the 17-15 loss to the Colts, a game in which they had their chances but failed to capitalize.

Then there are the ugly losses by both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh — a scenario absolutely no one would have predicted before the games went off. There’s good news in that it means the Ravens didn’t lose any ground, but they missed a golden opportunity to gain some.

The story was written early in the fourth quarter when the Ravens couldn’t cash in a first down from the one-yard line. It’s tempting to say “credit the Colts D” and I think that for the game as a whole that’s the right perspective. In this case, though, blame falls squarely on the coaching staff. The sneak on first down was smart — that’s a high-percentage play. When it didn’t work, it should have sent a message that some creativity was in order.

Instead, two more runs got stuffed and that was that.

To place blame on either Joe Flacco‘s late INT or Ed Reed‘s lateral/fumble would be foolish. In Flacco’s case, the linebacker made a great read. It happens. In Reed’s case, we’re talking about a playmaker trying to make a play. He’s high-risk, high-reward when he has the ball in his hands. That’s Ed Reed, and sometimes he comes up short. He’s not the reason they lost.

Where does all of that leave us? Right where we started. We all figured back in August that the two late-season tilts between Pittsburgh and Baltimore would have major playoff implications. Only real difference is that instead of the division title at stake it’s all about the Wild Card. Either way, Sunday shapes up to be the game it’s supposed to be. Expect nothing short of a full-out battle.

As a side note, the headline above can also, if you’re so inclined, apply to the absolute kick in the balls that Cleveland took in Detroit. No playoff implications there, but damn. I genuinely feel bad for Browns fans. It may not exactly be Erik Mangini‘s fault that they lost yesterday but it’s clear that guy has no business holding down an NFL head coaching job. I have to figure it’s only a matter of time until Browns ownership figures that out.