Looking back on 10 key moments from the season

There are hundreds of moments and plays during the season that affect a team's final record or bid to make the playoffs.

There are a lot of what-if moments: What if Ravens fullback Kyle Juszczyk hadn't scored with so much time left against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday? What if the Philadelphia Eagles had been able to score on their 2-point-conversion pass in the final seconds?

Since the Ravens' game Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals is meaningless, now is a good time to look back at 10 key moments from the season.

1. The most damaging one was the Ravens' 24-16 loss to the New York Jets on Oct. 23.

The Ravens played well for most of the first half and could have put the game away early in the second quarter, but Terrance West's 52-yard run to the Jets 4 was nullified by Alex Lewis' holding penalty.

A touchdown would have given the Ravens a 20-7 lead against one of the NFL's worst teams. Instead, the Jets scored 10 points off two interceptions by Joe Flacco in the third quarter, which proved to be the difference.

That loss was the fourth straight for the Ravens, who went into the bye week at 3-4. From that point, getting into the postseason was going to be an uphill battle.

2. The Ravens had the second-biggest comeback in franchise history Sept. 18, as they rebounded from a 20-0 first-quarter deficit to beat the Cleveland Browns, 25-20.

Wide receiver Mike Wallace had two touchdown catches and kicker Justin Tucker converted field goals of 49 and 41 yards in the fourth quarter.

The Ravens were 2-0 for the fifth time in team history. In the four previous seasons the Ravens started 2-0, they earned playoff berths. But in these two games, the Ravens struggled against the Buffalo Bills and the Browns. Not a good sign.

3. An indicator of one of the Ravens' major flaws on defense came in Week 4 against the Oakland Raiders. Before then, the Ravens were 3-0 but had not faced a top quarterback.

Oakland's Derek Carr completed 25 of 35 passes for 199 yards and four touchdowns, including the go-ahead 23-yard strike to Michael Crabtree with 2:12 left. The Raiders held on for a 28-27 victory.

4. There are costly turnovers and then there are devastating ones.

In Week 5 against the Washington Redskins, linebacker C.J. Mosley intercepted a pass in the third quarter and as he neared the goal line, he dove only to fumble the ball, which went through the end zone for a touchback.

Instead of going up 16-13 over the Redskins, Washington got the ball back and on the ensuing drive kicked a field goal. The Ravens lost, 16-10. To make matters worse, Mosley — one of the team's top tacklers — suffered a hamstring injury.

5. The New York Giants' Odell Beckham Jr. showed why he's one of the most feared wide receivers in the NFL in Week 6.

Beckham teamed with Eli Manning for two touchdowns and finished with eight catches for 222 yards. He scored on a 75-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter and turned a short pass into a 66-yard touchdown with 1:24 left in the game to deliver the 27-23 victory for New York.

It was a tough loss for the Ravens, who were already playing without five starters and then lost Terrell Suggs (biceps) and Jimmy Smith (concussion) to injuries in the second half.

But what if the Ravens had won this game? And if they had won the next week against the Jets, they would have been 5-2 at the bye.

6. In Week 12 against the Bengals, Tucker converted four field goals, including 52-, 57- and 54-yarders in the first half. Tucker also had a 36-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, as the Ravens ended a five-game losing streak to the Bengals.

Admit it. This game reminded most of us of the 2000 season, when the Ravens won on Matt Stover's leg and great defense.

7. The Ravens put some life into the 2016 season and gave their fan base something to cheer about as they lit up the Miami Dolphins, 38-6, in Week 13.

The offense had been criticized for being too conservative up to that point, but the Ravens gained 496 yards in that game. Flacco was hot, completing 36 of 47 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns.

There was hope that this was a breakout performance for the Ravens. Finally, they had an offense that complemented one of the NFL's best defenses.

8. Smith had already missed two games this season with an ankle injury and looked as if he was going to give the team a lift in the final quarter of the season, but he reinjured the ankle in the first quarter against the New England Patriots.

After Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns, it was hard to envision the Ravens going far in the postseason.

9. The Ravens barely beat the Eagles, 27-26, but it was as if they had lost. The locker room was gloomy, receivers were angry with Flacco and John Harbaugh called a decision by offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg to pass late in the game the “all-time worst call ever.”

10. The Ravens had the Steelers on the ropes in Week 16. But the Steelers had touchdown drives of 75, 90 and 75 yards in the fourth quarter, with the game-winning 4-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown coming with nine seconds left.

The Steelers' Big Three of Roethlisberger, Brown and running back Le'Veon Bell were unstoppable.

The Steelers ended a four-game losing streak against the Ravens and, more importantly, ended the Ravens' playoff hopes in one of the most exciting games in the series' 21-year history.

[e-mail]

twitter.com/MikePrestonSun