The Ravens’ roller-coaster season came to a close Saturday night in Indianapolis, 20-3. Here are three observations:

Wide Receivers. Like in many games earlier in the season, the Ravens’ passing game never got untracked. Obviously a healthy Joe Flacco is better than the current injured version. But he wasn’t the only problem Saturday night. Other than Derrick Mason (who might not return next season) and Ray Rice, the rest of the Ravens’ receivers disappeared for the majority of the game. Todd Heap was often called on to block. But for the most part, the wide receivers just couldn’t get enough separation from Indy’s not-so-great secondary, and even when they did, things still didn’t go as planned. The Ravens had five dropped passes (plus another one that was deflected into an interception). Unless the Ravens can seriously upgrade this position next year — through the draft, free agency or trade — it will remain a huge problem.

Penalties. Sure, the Ravens only committed three penalties in their crushing win over the Patriots last week, but their undisciplined play proved to be a huge part of why they lost to Indianapolis. From continuing to get flagged for pass interference to having kick returns and interceptions called back to giving the opposition extra downs, penalties, one more time, killed the Ravens. This is something that coach John Harbaugh needs to begin working on from the very first training camp. For the Ravens to have any hopes of winning a Super Bowl in the near future, they will need to learn to play a different way.

Joe Flacco. It’s easy to get caught up in how Flacco ended his season, which is to say: poorly. But I think there are plenty of reasons for Ravens fans to continue to believe in the young quarterback. He’s just completed his second season (and gone 3-2 on the road in the playoffs), and he increased his passing attempts, completion percentage, total yards, yards per attempt, touchdowns (while interceptions remained the same) and passer rating, all the while battling injuries and dealing with ineffective wide receivers. Flacco should be healthy next season, and we can only hope Ozzie Newsome will have upgraded the receiving corps. And if that happens, look out.
--- RONALD T. ZIZMOR.