To put it bluntly, the Baltimore Ravens' defense resembled a turnstyle for most of Sunday's win over the Cincinnati Bengals, especially the secondary.
For roughly 57 minutes of game time, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow did whatever he wanted as he completed 30 of 39 passes for 392 yards and five touchdowns. Wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase (10 receptions, 193 yards and two touchdowns) and Tee Higgins (nine receptions, 83 yards and two touchdowns) also had a field day as the Ravens had no answers for the Bengals' passing attack. That is until one of their veteran leaders in the secondary stepped up when he needed to.
With three minutes to go in regulation and his team down by three, star cornerback Marlon Humphrey picked off Burrow for a critical takeaway. Baltimore kicked the game-tying field goal on the ensuing drive, and after another roller coaster of emotions, eventually won in overtime.
Needless to say, the weight of Humphrey's interception isn't lost on his teammates.
"It just shows you, like, no matter what happens during the game, it just takes one play," wide receiver Zay Flowers told reporters after the game. "It takes one play to reverse the whole game, man. I went up to [Humphrey], and I said, 'That's you,' because some people will get down in their head and just keep going down. He stayed up and made a big interception, so props to Marlon."
Humphrey, the Ravens' first-round pick in 2017, has dealt with numerous injuries over the past few years, and they've noticeably impacted his play. Even still, he can still come up with a clutch play when he needs to.
"That's going to happen, but we have some dudes on that defense – guys that are fully capable of dominating," center Tyler Linderbaum said. "Just like us, I'm sure they have plays that they want back. But, they came through, 'Marlo' came through. That's a huge interception that shifted the game, giving us chance at either to go win it or tie and send it to overtime."
Humphrey was seen wearing a walking boot after the game, so the Ravens hope that he won't miss any significant time. At the very least, he can rest easy knowing that he changed the game on Sunday, helping Baltimore pick up a crucial AFC North victory.
