ATLANTA -- After receiving a game ball in the locker room for his game-ending interception, Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton wanted to provide perspective to Sunday night's 30-23 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons.
"The last couple of years, like ever since I've been here, that's a game that we would lose," Hamilton told his teammates and coaches. "This win right here, I feel like is us."
Hamilton is referring to the frustrating reputation that the Ravens had built with years of fourth-quarter collapses and coming up short in close games. But, after an improbable comeback with backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, Baltimore believes there is a reversal of fortune happening after a clutch performance rarely seen in the NFL.
The Ravens became the first team to win a game down by eight or more points in the final minute in four years, breaking the 581-game losing streak for teams in that situation, according to ESPN Research.
"We talk about being at your best when your best is needed, and just like, [the team had] no flinch, no panic," Ravens coach Jesse Minter said. "That's a big step for us. And if we let it be, it can be a launch point for us to really, really get this thing rolling."
Baltimore had previously struggled in close games. From 2023 to 2025, the Ravens were 9-15 (.375) in games decided by seven points or less, which was the sixth-worst mark in the league over that span.
This season, Baltimore has won three straight games that have been determined by a one-score margin. In Week 3, Tyler Loop's 56-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Ravens to a 34-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Rio. In Week 4, Malaki Starks' leaping recovery of an onside kick sealed Baltimore's 24-18 victory over the Tennessee Titans. And, on Sunday night, Hamilton's interception of Tua Tagovailoa closed out the game in overtime.
Minter pointed out how these string of nail-biters followed a 24-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints, which featured Baltimore giving up 15 points in the fourth quarter.
"Confidence is gained by going through things and going through things together," Minter said. "And I don't know if we have the results of the last three weeks if the Saints game doesn't happen. So I think there's always ways you can take losses like that. You can learn from them and really, really try to improve and get better and look at the things that you did well and build on things."
On Sunday night, here is how the Ravens went from trailing 23-15 late in the fourth quarter to winning 30-23 in four drives:
- In a hurry-up offense, Huntley quickly moved Baltimore 71 yards in one minute, 51 seconds, completing all six of his passes to four different receivers. The Ravens tied the game at 23 when Huntley hit Devontez Walker for a 7-yard touchdown with 40 seconds remaining and running back Derrick Henry converted a 2-point conversion with a run.
- On the last drive of the fourth quarter, Ravens outside linebacker Tavius Robinson beat two blockers off the right edge and hit Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr., which forced him to sit out overtime with a rib injury.
- After electing to take the ball first in overtime, Baltimore marched 68 yards on 14 plays, which is the longest touchdown drive in overtime in eight years. Huntley capped the possession by getting into the end zone on a 1-yard sneak.
- Down 30-23, the Falcons' chance of coming back ended with Hamilton's first interception of the season. Hamilton felt Tagovailoa was trying to look him off but he just watched his eyes to make the turnover.
"I have said it a thousand times before, but big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games," Ravens defensive end Calais Campbell said. "And Kyle Hamilton is the best of us."
For nearly three quarters, it didn't seem like this was going to be a watershed moment for Baltimore. With Lamar Jackson out with an ankle injury, the Ravens couldn't consistently finish off drives, totaling one touchdown, three field goals and four punts on the first nine possessions. Tight end Mark Andrews watched his fumble turn into a Falcons' defensive touchdown and then failed to hold onto a 2-point conversion that would have tied the game at 17 in the third quarter. The Baltimore defense couldn't get off the field, allowing Atlanta to convert nine of its first 15 third downs (60%).
"We were able to overcome adversity," Andrews said. "In some years past, we may not have been able to do that."
This marked the first time the Ravens had come back from a deficit of eight points or more in the final minute in five years, when Baltimore beat the Indianapolis Colts, 31-25.
"That is just us getting over some sort of hump or dark cloud," Hamilton said. "I am excited for the future."