The Baltimore Ravens went to Cincinnati to face the AFC North favorites and came back home boasting an impeccable 2-0 record two weeks into the season.
After beating the Bengals 27-24 on Sunday, the Ravens' prospects for a playoff run are already looking more than solid while Cincy is facing long odds to clinch a postseason berth. The fact that all of that happened with a pretty banged-up Flock made it even sweeter.
One of those backups stepping up to the plate when the team needed him the most was undervalued safety Geno Stone. Stone, playing in replacement of injured starter Marcus Williams, was the catalyst of Baltimore's victory and he created the turning point of the game.
What was the turning point in the Ravens' Week 2 win?
With the score 13-10 in favor of the Ravens and the Bengals snapping the ball on Baltimore's 17-yard line in the third quarter, Joe Burrow received the ball from the center of the Bengals and started to think about what to do next to put his team up in the scoreboard.
This play came after a resuscitated Bengals squad had a rather putrid first half of play in which they found no way to stop the mighty Ravens.
This is a such a great play from Geno Stone
— Kevin Oestreicher (@koestreicher34) September 18, 2023
At the snap, Joe Burrow briefly identifies Stone as he’s drifting towards Ja’Marr Chase
Once Chase releases outside, he immediately breaks towards the
middle of the field, and is in perfect position for the INT pic.twitter.com/ij633Q2XiX
On this turning-point type of play (h/t Kevin Oestreicher for the clip), Ravens safety Geno Stone decides to start his defensive motion leaning toward covering Ja'Marr Chase on the outside to provide some help to the corner applying man coverage to the wideout.
Once Chase turns left and drifts wide, Stone makes the decision to change his motion toward the middle of the pitch, inching closer to Tee Higgins. Burrow seems to have checked Stone early, at the point of the snap, but not later, and thus he didn't realize Stone had changed his defensive plans moving on from Chase and toward the center.
When Burrow releases his pass, Stone is already rushing toward Higgins and in the direction of the ball, making it an easy interception for the safety as he just finds himself launching forward and facing Burrow's ball cleanly.
Not only did Stone intercept Burrow's pass, but he also went on to return it for 36 yards--and that could have been even more had he cut inside instead of going to the sideline. The Ravens ended the drive kickstarted by Stone's interception with a touchdown, nearly
Speaking after the game, Stone said "It means a lot to me," adding "It means a lot that these coaches trust me and put me in the position to be where I am right now."
Stone had only one interception before Sunday's and that one came against Ben Roethlisberger in 2021 as the veteran Steelers legend played his last regular-season game before retiring.
The backup safety will stay put in the starting lineup of the Ravens for a while and until Marcus Williams can make his return following a rehab process to heal a pectoral injury suffered in Week 1.