The path to the playoffs has been a rough and tough one for the Baltimore Ravens. Injuries have taken their toll, especially at quarterback. Just last week, the talk was of backup quarterback Tyler Huntley taking over for the Ravens after starter Lamar Jackson went down with a knee injury. Huntley suffered a concussion in Sunday’s 16-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers opening up a path for Anthony Brown to make his NFL debut.
Brown, an undrafted rookie from Oregon came on in relief for Huntley with the ball on Baltimore’s one-yard line.
“Honestly, [I was thinking] it was an opportunity for a 99-yard drive,” Brown said.
Brown completed a three-yard pass to Demarcus Robinson, but the Ravens didn’t get much else on that drive before punting.
“When you might least expect it, there’s your opportunity, and he stepped into it heroically,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said.
“That’s kind of how he is. His personality is that. He’s kind of calm, cool and collected,” Harbaugh said. “[He’s] very much a student of the game; [he] works very hard at it in terms of preparing himself.”
Harbaugh mentioned how he spoke with Brown in his office when the two first met during his top 30 visit before the NFL Draft last April. The stoic approach that Brown took to that first meeting is the same one the rookie took to the field last Sunday.
Harbaugh called Brown a real serious dude that has a business approach. The visit stood out for Harbaugh because of a quote that Brown left the coach with.
Added Harbaugh, “I think he said something and made a quote that his dad gave him; ‘If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready,’ right? What an awesome lesson to learn from your dad.”
“I’ve been hearing it all my life from my father, ‘Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.’ This was just a testament to that. Then on top of it – like I said – just following the plan, following the process and making sure I was ready for whenever this moment came,” Brown said.
Brown only completed three out of his five pass attempts for 16 yards, but he did what he had to do to keep the Ravens from losing.
Tight end Mark Andrews complimented Brown for how he took command of the huddle from the moment he stepped in for Huntley. That takes a lot of confidence for a rookie.
The confidence that Brown had comes from the preparation he worked to carry out over three seasons.
“They had a plan as soon as I got here to make sure that I would be prepared within any situation, “ Brown said. “It was unbelievable; they said they had a plan for me, and low and behold, here we are in Pittsburgh, and we got it done.”
Brown and the Ravens got it done against the Steelers. Their next opponent will be when they travel to Cleveland to face the Browns on Saturday at home.
