In Week 15 the Baltimore Ravens (10-3) visit the Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5) looking to maintain their grip on the No. 1 seed in the AFC Playoffs race.
The Ravens earned that spot thanks to a thrilling overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams (6-7) last weekend that was sealed with a punt return touchdown from receiver Tylan Wallace.
That moment was big for Wallace, of course, but also for Baltimore as a whole, and stands out as the highlight moment in special teams coordinator Chris Horton’s coach career so far.
“That is the best moment of my coaching career by far,” Horton said. “To win the game in that fashion as a coach, you’re so excited for the guys first. Then, as a coach, you sit back and think about how much time [special teams coach/specialist] Randy [Brown], [special team coach] T.J. [Weist], [Consultant] Sam [Koch] and I and [Head Coach] ‘Harbs’ [John Harbaugh] when he’s in there, how much time we put in there just working and trying come up with ways to score, for great plays to happen and the attention to details in that situation. But that was definitely the best one as a coach for sure.”
Wallace would likely agree with Horton ranking that play at the top of their respective career lists so far. Getting the win for his team makes the play special, but doing it after having a less-than-stellar moment earlier in the contest adds redeeming qualities to it as well.
On a 4th-and-5 punt by the Rams, Wallace was flagged for being offsides. The penalty gave Los Angeles a new set of downs, but punt returner and fellow receiver Devin Duvernay was also injured on the play. An indirect occurrence, for sure, but something that tacked a little extra frustration onto the infraction.
“As his coach, I was frustrated,” Horton said of the play. “That's a change of possession and then I kind of go over [and] have a conversation with him. At some point throughout the game, [the trainers] say, ‘Hey, Duv’s down.’ Then you go back to Tylan and say, ‘Hey, you’re going to be the punt returner.’ There's going to be some opportunities there, and the first thing first is possession of the football. That's one of the things we talk about all the time. He did that and from there, it’s just let his natural football ability take over. He has that. He’s a good receiver. Once he gets the ball in his hands ... All those guys have the capability of making those kind of plays.”
Resiliency is an often discussed by somewhat undervalued characteristic of a successful person.
In the NFL especially, one bad moment can do a lot of damage, but moving on from it and taking advantage of the next opportunity is critical and often times draws the line between victory and defeat.
Against the Jaguars this week Baltimore is hoping it doesn’t need an overtime punt return touchdown to win the game, but having a roster - and players like Wallace - who have the ability to bounce back from in-game adversity gives coaches like Horton confidence entering the weekend.
Confidence they’ll need with the Ravens holding a 3-7 record all time when playing in Jacksonville.
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