The Ravens had a five-game winning streak to move from 1-5 to 6-5, but they never won two straight games after Week 12. Baltimore was just 3-6 at home and ended the season by losing four of its last six games.
To Kolar, the end of Sunday’s game felt like a horror movie he had already seen somewhere before.
“The last game was kind of an encapsulation of the entire season,” Kolar said. “Good teams find a way to win, and we just didn’t do that enough this year. All three phases have to find a way to play complementary football.
“We all thought we were going to win that game. Twelve hours later, it’s the team meeting and the season’s over.”
Ricard is a pending free agent but wants to return to the Ravens next season. He doesn’t believe that Baltimore’s window to win a championship has closed with its current nucleus of players.
“As long as we have Lamar Jackson, I feel like this team can win a Super Bowl,” Ricard said. “He makes this thing go. And to have Derrick [Henry], that’s a big reason I signed back last year. That’s a dream backfield to have Lamar and Derrick.”
Ricard was asked if close losses in recent years leave scar tissue that makes it harder to eventually break through. As a veteran, Ricard plans to use this latest bitter defeat as motivation.
“I think, if anything, you just have to look at it as a lesson, something to fuel you,” Ricard said. “We all want to win. We all want a Super Bowl, and when we fall short, you have to look in the mirror and [at] yourself and try to think of what you could have done better.”