Why John Harbaugh Played it Old and Conservative

Shower Thought - September 8, 2025

Do you ever get caught on the business end of a directions giver? It is usually your great uncle or your wife’s grandpa or someone like that. And they are insistent on giving you directions to the Dairy Queen in their hometown.

“Okay, you are going to go down the main drag here. When you see Big Tom’s Carburetors, hang a right. Then you are going to see two big elm trees, keep going right past those. Then there is a bend in the road, follow that until you see the post office.”

And you are nodding along like you are not just going to map it on your phone as soon as you get in the car. It is a charming trait in folks of a certain age. They want to give directions.

There are little quirks like that in sports too. Like the NFL. Last night, good old John Harbaugh, one of the best coaches in the league who has been coaching the Ravens for almost 20 years, was just so adorable with a little quirk. His old time Woody Hayes style of coaching.

He has the ball with 1:58 left in the game. He is up 40 to 38 over the Bills. And would you believe it, old John is going to try to win the game like it is 1973 and not 2025. He is going to run out the clock and make the Bills use their timeouts.

First down: handoff, one yard gain.
Second down: handoff, no gain.
Third down: short pass, three yards short of the sticks.

PUNT.

But he made the Bills use all their timeouts. It is 1973 and Woody Hayes and Norm Van Brocklin and Hank Stram are all applauding him from heaven. He played it conservative and punted the ball away. Field position.

Never mind that the Bills have the MVP. They only had to go 60 yards. Well, they did that in about three seconds and easily won the game.

John Harbaugh, you are adorable.