In another Sunday featuring multiple injuries (and an ejection, yikes) coming to members of the Baltimore Ravens secondary (who else...), there was a particular player forced into action that, once more and as it's been the case earlier this season, stepped up to the plate: safety Geno Stone.
If there was a pivotal play in Sunday's game, it was Stone's interception in the third quarter, which ultimately turned into another field goal scored by Justin Tucker and gave the Ravens an eight-point lead that would also be the final difference in the scoreboard.
Stone with the interception. 1 int and 0-6 on 3rd downs conversions for Tannehill pic.twitter.com/uWoX1mL2XH
— DJMIKE20 (@DJMIKE20_o) October 15, 2023
That, of course, was only possible after three players of the defensive unit left the game for different reasons.
Last weekend, starting Marcus Williams returned to action following a chest injury and he was clearly favoring his left arm and definitely not even close to being fully fit to play. He left Week 6 with a hamstring injury.
Opposite Williams in the secondary, second-year safety Kyle Hamilton was having a terrific game against the Titans but after concussing a couple of opponents through the game the referees decided to eject him following a helmet-to-helmet tackle.
That, paired with the ankle injury suffered by cornerback Kevon Seymour, put Geno Stone in the game to man the safety position as he already did to extraordinary levels of play in weeks past.
Stone's interception, surely his best play on Sunday, came in the third quarter when he intercepted a pass from Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Geno Stone thanks Marlon for his interception pic.twitter.com/H0kdLAWcWv
— Punch Line Podcast (@punchlinepod44) October 15, 2023
This crucial play halted a threatening Titans' drive deep into Ravens territory, shifting the momentum in Baltimore's favor. That pass was always going to end in completion with Marlon Humphrey already beaten by the ball and the Titans receiver, but Stone's ball-tracking skills showed and he saved the day for the Flock.
In a funny development, Stone became the leader in intercepted passes this season across the NFL with three of them in double those games. Stone, however, has only started three of those outings and he had no clue he was leading the league on that front.
Pending MNF, as many as eight players have interecetped three passes in the NFL this season, including Stone. Stone, however, leds all of them with 96 yards returned after those picks.