THE RAVENS DON'T deserve to go to the playoffs because they don't have that killer instinct yet. In the NFL, when it's playoff time, good teams make big plays in the final two minutes of a game.

Yesterday, the Ravens' final two minutes were a disaster, and it wasn't the young players who cost the team in a 14-13 loss to the Cleveland Browns. It was veterans like running back Jamal Lewis, selfish cornerback Chris McAlister and defensive end Adalius Thomas.

And the coaches need to take some blame, too. They stayed in a zone defense too long in the closing minutes, and need to learn better clock management offensively late in games.

Killer instinct. The Ravens didn't have it in crunch time yesterday as a crowd of 69,348 left with most of their playoff hopes crushed. It's a shame, too, because the Ravens were actually playing their best ball of the season in the past two games.

They were basically turnover-free and controlling games with defense, Lewis and some timely receptions by tight end Todd Heap and wide receiver Travis Taylor (believe it or not). For 58 minutes yesterday, they controlled the Browns, but they couldn't finish the job.

"Obviously, very, very painful," Ravens coach Brian Billick said of the loss. "All week, we've tried to create a playoff atmosphere. It was a hell of a game, and what these guys have to learn from this is this is what a playoff loss feels like and what you draw from it. It's a painful lesson, but a lesson nonetheless, and we'll try to draw anything we can from it.

"[The Browns] have won a share of games like that, and we've won a good number where people had to go the length [of the field] but couldn't. This time, they won."

The Ravens had the Browns pinned on their 8-yard line with 2:18 left and no timeouts. But the Ravens played and stayed in a zone despite quarterback Tim Couch completing passes of 11, 9, 17, 28 and 12 yards before he threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Campbell with 29 seconds left to pull out the victory.

Why?

Most teams play zone until the other team reaches midfield, and then they either play man-to-man, disguise a zone or put more pressure on the quarterback. Instead, Couch chewed up the Ravens.

"I don't think we panicked at all," said Ravens outside linebacker Peter Boulware. "We've been successful with that defense all year in tight games. I think they executed very well, and they put together a great drive. We did all we could do to stop them, and they kept hitting passes and making plays."

But the Ravens should have tried something. Anything.

Asked if he thought the Ravens stayed in the zone too long, Boulware hesitated and then slowly nodded his head yes. There were a couple of other defensive players who agreed.

"They were trying to drop into zones and trying to rush them, but we have so many guys that can get open, create separation, that it makes it a lot easier on the quarterback," Cleveland receiver Kevin Johnson said.

The Ravens didn't get much help from fourth-year cornerback McAlister. After running back Jamel White caught a short pass in the middle of the field and got around the right corner for a 28-yard gain to the Ravens' 27, McAlister was called for unnecessary roughness after shoving White, who was clearly out of bounds. Cleveland took possession at the Ravens' 13.

After showering, McAlister bolted from his locker and refused to talk to reporters. What a stand-up guy. Another bonehead play. All season, he has talked about being a Pro Bowl-caliber player, but he hasn't done much to earn that status.

When was the last time McAlister shut down a quality receiver? When was the last time McAlister, who has great physical ability, took out a receiver after a catch across the middle? He's just another "I Guy" looking for a big contract during the offseason.

It's always about Chris.

Well, what about him?

"You've got to be smart," said an obviously irritated Billick. "That single play, you don't know what happens beyond that. It was unfortunate to do that at that time."

It was one of a series of miscues and mistakes by the Ravens on the last drive. On Campbell's touchdown, he was supposed to be covered by Thomas.

"I took my eyes off my man. It was my man, my fault," Thomas said.

There is a lot of blame to go around. Even on the Ravens' next-to-last possession of the game, there were some strange offensive calls. Starting at their 13 and going into the wind with 7:01 remaining, quarterback Jeff Blake opened the series with an incomplete pass.

Why not run the ball and use some clock?

Three plays later on first down, Blake threw another incompletion from his 28 that was tipped at the line of scrimmage.

Again, why not run the ball and use up more time?

Did anyone find that strange?

"It didn't surprise me; that's what he wanted to do," Lewis said. "We started running it more in the fourth quarter, and it was kind of like the last game and they were kind of wearing down."

Lewis had his own bad moment on that drive. On third-and-seven from the Cleveland 40, Lewis ran around left end for 5 yards, but he ran out of bounds. If he had stayed in, the Ravens could have used up more time. Billick made the right call by punting on fourth-and-two, but he wasn't happy about Lewis running out of bounds.

And he wasn't happy about the last drive. Or McAlister.

And he won't be satisfied with Thomas after watching film this morning. Basically, the Ravens were two minutes away from staying in serious playoff contention and having a reasonable shot at the AFC North title.

But they couldn't handle the pressure. They didn't have that killer instinct.