Keeler: In garbage argument over garbage time, Broncos coach Vic Fangio was justified in trying to score. And John Harbaugh is full of it.

John Harbaugh is afloat of it. If you were Broncos manager Vic Fangio, down 23-7 astatine location and driving with 30 seconds near and timeouts burning successful your backmost pocket, you’d beryllium chucking the rock, too.

Before everyone stands and applauds Harbaugh, Fangio’s modern with the Baltimore Ravens, for getting successful the past connection during Monday’s garbage statement astir garbage time, support 2 things successful mind:

1. While we’re down with riding The Teddy Bridgewater Train each the mode to the extremity of the line, No. 5 has, shall we say, a bit of a way grounds when it comes to injuries. Broncos backup backmost Drew Lock needed — and needs — each the low-leverage snaps successful “game” situations, astatine “game” speed, that you tin perchance springiness him.

2. If you are going to lose, NFL rules incentivize adjacent losses implicit blowouts.

Seriously. You person to squint a little. But it’s right determination successful the books. Point differential actually matters.

See, successful the lawsuit of a necktie to settee a division-winner oregon a wild-card spot, the No. 9 tiebreaker is “Best nett points successful communal games” — i.e., games against AFC opponents.

The No. 10 tiebreaker? “Best nett points successful each games.”

The No. 11 tiebreaker? “Best nett touchdowns successful each games.”

So, yeah. Even trailing by 16 late, a hopeless cause, I’m pushing it.

It’s wherefore the New York Giants, down 27-7 to the Broncos astatine home, went gonzo aft the 2-minute informing successful Week 1, tacking connected a garbage-time touchdown arsenic clip expired.

“So you’re throwing the shot successful the extremity portion with 10 seconds left?” Harbaugh countered Monday aft being called retired by Fangio earlier successful the day. “I don’t cognize that there’s a 16-point touchdown that’s gonna beryllium imaginable close there.”

Spare us, Johnny. NFL bushido says that if you’re trailing, you support swinging. Even if it’s stupid, cartoon-character swinging portion the different feline is stiff-arming your face.

It besides says that if you’re up large with the result decided, beryllium a gentleman. Be a pro. Put the sword away.

Fangio, who’s carried the NFL shield for astir 4 decades, stuck to the written — and unwritten — rules. Harbaugh stuck to his ego.

Something astir each this feels a small … personal. Doesn’t it? Uncle Vic knows everybody successful this league. He worked with John connected the Ravens unit successful 2008 and ‘09. Then, much significantly, helium served arsenic the antiaircraft coordinator for Jim Harbaugh, John’s brother, from 2010-14 — archetypal astatine Stanford (2010), past with the 49ers (2011-14).

In December 2010, Fangio told the San Francisco Chronicle that his departure from the Ravens was “very mutual.” Multiple outlets reported that Uncle Vic had been courted by Jim Harbaugh “a fig of times” earlier yet agreeing to articulation the Cardinal staff.

“This is simply a occurrence (that) it took place,” Jim said to The Mercury News successful September 2010 when asked astir moving with Fangio.

Gushing stuff, mostly. If determination was atrocious humor boiling, underneath the surface, either everybody did a large occupation of covering it up, oregon it’s comparatively fresh.

When Harbaugh and the Ravens elected, with 3 seconds left, to tally the shot with prima backmost Lamar Jackson from their ain 20 alternatively than instrumentality a knee, Fangio went ballistic. Footage from Channel 9 showed the Broncos manager first frantically waving astatine his defense to get person to the enactment of scrimmage, then, aft the play was over, removing his headset and flinging it to the crushed successful disgust.

Temperatures got heated again connected Monday morning, erstwhile Fangio called the last play “bull (expletive) … but I expected that from (Baltimore). In 37 years of pro ball, I’ve ne'er seen thing similar that. But it was to beryllium expected. And we expected it.”

The Ravens were chasing an NFL grounds — 43 consecutive games with astatine slightest 100 squad rushing yards. Baltimore was astatine 97 earlier the last snap. John Harbaugh said Monday successful effect to Fangio’s barbs that they went for it, successful part, due to the fact that the Broncos had called timeouts to effort to people late. Like it was immoderate private, ineffable affront.

“Their concerns,” Harbaugh told reporters, “are decidedly not our concerns.”

When the Ravens manager yaps astir his “concerns,” the 1 astatine the apical of the list, numero uno, is the man’s ego. If there’s a carrot dangling astatine the end, nary instrumentality is excessively short.

The feline played tailback J.K. Dobbins successful each 3 preseason tilts this summer, lone for Dobbins to endure a season-ending genu wounded Game 3. Did we notation that the Ravens were, astatine the time, hunting different who-cares NFL-record — 20 consecutive accumulation wins?

You cannot crushed with those people. You cannot rationalize with them. You simply fto them go, privation them well, and weep for those successful their care. Jackson, especially.

Forty-three consecutive games. Congrats, Johnny. Here’s a lollipop. Now halt treating the remainder of america similar a clump of suckers.