As Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta walked down the sideline in celebration late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 56-19 win over the Miami Dolphins, he stopped and exchanged a quick embrace with wide receiver and return specialist Tylan Wallace.
Wallace secured his star role in early December. His 76-yard touchdown run in overtime gave Baltimore a 37-31 home victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14. It was emblematic of a team that needs — and receives — contributions from almost everyone in its rise to the top of the standings. Department and conference.
The 2021 fourth-round pick was on the roster bubble all summer and was a healthy scratch earlier this season. Wallace got a chance to punt for the first time in his professional career after Pro Bowl running back Devin DuVernay suffered a back injury, and he made one of the biggest plays of the Ravens' regular season, which concludes in Baltimore on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. .
A quick look at the Ravens' roster reveals many similar stories: replacements who were needed to step into bigger roles in crucial moments, young players who had to grow up quickly as veteran standouts went down with injuries, and young backfield players who went from potential cuts to Trusted contributors.
“It should be that way in the NFL for sure,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “You have to have that quality to be able to sustain and have stamina throughout the entire season. A team's stamina requires players to step in and play at the same high starting level. In our minds, everyone's a starter. You have to be, because you're just one click away from being there.” “Everything rests on your shoulders. You have to prepare that way.”
In their smothering for the Dolphins, running back Justice Hill had 112 yards of offense, a touchdown, and a 78-yard kickoff return that helped lead to an early score in the third quarter. Hill was mostly the No. 3 running back and special teams starter during his five-season tenure in Baltimore, but season-ending injuries, first to JK Dobbins and then to Keaton Mitchell, elevated him to a prominent offensive role.
Second-year tight end Isaiah Likely was mostly an afterthought on the offense until Pro Bowler Mark Andrews went down with an ankle injury in Week 11. In five games since then, he's probably had 19 catches for 291 yards and four touchdowns, two of which It came against Miami on Sunday. He has proven himself as a difference maker.
With right guard Kevin Zeitler sidelined against Miami, Ben Cleveland hung on and played the entire game against a strong front. He becomes the latest backup offensive lineman the Ravens need to start or play significant snaps this season, joining Patrick Mekari, Sam Mustipher and Daniel Vallely, and to hold up well.
Because of injuries to starting cornerbacks Brandon Stevens and Marlon Humphrey, starting safety Kyle Hamilton and backup safety Darrell Worley, Baltimore's secondary at various points on Sunday included veteran corners Ronald Darby, Roc Ya-Sin and Arthur Mollett. All were modest one-year signings by DeCosta. All were forced to accept primarily special teams roles at various points in the season. However, all of them were effective Sunday in containing the best passing attack in the league.
They got help from safety Geno Stone, who notched his seventh interception of the season on Sunday. Stone was re-signed last offseason after not being offered a restricted free agent contract. He was expected to fill the third or fourth safety role. With injuries to Marcus Williams, and more recently Hamilton, Stone plays 83 percent of the team's defensive snaps and leads the AFC in interceptions.
“It's a testament to our guys,” Stone said. “Everyone can play at this secondary level. Even players who don't get reps in practice, they're able to come in and do special things.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is a favorite to win his second NFL MVP award next month. First-round pick Zay Flowers is having the best rookie season for a wide receiver in franchise history. Defensively, the Ravens have as many as three first-team All-Pros with Hamilton, middle linebacker Roquan Smith and defensive lineman Justin Madubuike. Todd Monken and Mike McDonald, Baltimore's offensive and defensive coordinators, have had hot hands for most of the season and are gaining buzz on the coaching field.
However, the strength of the league-best 13-3 Ravens team is its depth and the contributions it gets on a weekly basis from up and down the roster. Four different players have over 380 yards rushing. Six different players had more than 340 receiving yards. Fifteen different players had a sack. Eight different players had an interception.
The Ravens lost Dobbins in Week 1 and Mitchell in Week 15, but they still lead the league in rushing yards per game. They have essentially been without outside linebackers Tyus Bowser and David Ogabo all season, yet still lead the league in sacks. The Ravens have been forced to play large portions of the season without Humphrey and Williams, their two most accomplished defensive backs, yet they have more takeaways than anyone else in the NFL.
“The depth is there,” Ravens linebacker Patrick Ricard said. “Guys, when opportunities come, they make the most of them. It's just a credit to the scouting department for getting the right guys in here, the coaches to prepare the players the right way, guys who believe in the process and really come in during the week and get ready to play when their number is called. We've seen that throughout General. We don't skip a beat or lose a step when guys get down.
The “next man up” mantra is repeated over and over again at the NFL's 32 facilities during the season, but the truth is that some teams are better equipped to deal with injuries than others. The Ravens have had a relatively good season injury-wise. However, some of their losses were significant. However, it didn't matter.
That's not to say the Ravens' running game didn't miss Dobbins and Mitchell, but they were still able to run the ball successfully without them. Andrews' absence was viewed as a potential crushing blow to Jackson and Baltimore's offense. That's not the case, because the Ravens still have prospect Charlie Kolar and a group of receivers who can make plays. Ronnie Stanley, Morgan Moses, Tyler Linderbaum and Zeitler suffered injuries at various points in the season. The Ravens are so confident in their offensive line that they have been using rotations at both tackle positions to ease the physical burden on Stanley and Moses.
Defensively, the late signings of Jadeveon Clowney and Kyle Van Noy made up for the unavailability of Bowser and Ogabo and the injury of Odafy Oweh early in the season. The combination of Darby, Ya-Sin and Mollet made up for Humphrey's absence from summer foot surgery. Stone's presence was noticeable when Williams tore a pectoral muscle in Week 1.
“Honestly, there's no drop anywhere,” Mullet said. “I've told the guys this reminds me of the 2017 New Orleans Saints team, where we had a lot of depth, man. So, it's great. The guys upstairs put this roster together, where there's no walk-outs and where everyone can play roles.” “And make a difference. So, it's actually great.”
DeCosta likes to say that the list-building process never stops. Clowney, Van Noy, Mullett and Darby were all guys he added long after the free agency cutback. Van Noy was signed in Week 4.
Harbaugh presented DeCosta and the team staff with a game ball in the locker room after the win over Miami. It was an appropriate gesture after a game in which Baltimore was forced to dig deeper into its depth chart and rely on backups at several positions.
The Ravens will once again need to rely on their entire roster on Saturday, as Harbaugh is expected to sit some key players and anyone dealing with a notable injury in a game that won't have any impact on the team in the standings. It's the Ravens' latest opportunity to showcase the depth of their roster.
“We have dogs on this team at every position. It's like first and second string and first, second and third string, we have dogs,” Oweh said. “So one player went down, another got hurt, and we brought in the next dog. “We're the No. 1 defense (scoring goals) for a reason.”
(Top Image: Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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