The Baltimore Ravens won a game thanks to the most unexpected man

It was thrilling, it was extenuating, it was a little bit crazy, but a win is a win, and that's what the Baltimore Ravens (10-3) got in their Week 14 showdown against the Los Angeles Rams (6-7) beating the visitors 37-31 in overtime.

It took the Flock a minute, for sure, but at the end of the day all they needed was an unexpected here and a sudden explosive outburst on a return that saw backup man Tylan Wallace bring the rock all the way down the field for a 76-yard walk-off score.

The Rams, led by QB Matthew Stafford, forced overtime with a late-game drive culminating in a game-tying field goal when the Ravens all but had clinched the victory. No luck.

Even with those Rams' heroics dragging the matchup into free-football overtime, the spotlight would ultimately belong to backup special-teamer Wallace, who, in his first-ever punt return as a professional since entering the league in 2021 put on a returning masterclass to give Baltimore the no. 1 seed in the AFC.

All Wallace did: breaking three tackles, regaining balance when it seemed he would fall, sprinting for a mere 76 yards... and of course, leaping and flipping his body while jumping into the end zone, capping off a ridiculous day of football in Maryland.

"You could say [it's] a once-in-a-lifetime moment," Wallace said.

"You're talking about amazing events. That's the beauty of football. That's the amazing thing about football. It is the ultimate team game," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after the game. "The guys were so happy for Tylan [Wallace] in the locker room."

What is even crazier about Wallace's game-winning play is that it came after he committed a penalty earlier in the game when he lined up offside on a second-quarter Rams punt, leading up to a penalty that extended LA's drive and eventually ended in a touchdown. Even then, Harbaugh trusted his man and used him following Devin Duvernay's injury before overtime.

Wallace, 24, is a career borderline-roster-player from when the Ravens picked him in the fourth round of the 2021 draft. He dodged the roster-cuts bullet last August, and after Sunday's touchdown, you can say Baltimore's decision to keep him around has paid off for the Ravens.

With only six receptions in 33 career games and none this year, Wallace is mostly a special-teams player--but quite a special one at it, isn't he?