The sight of J.K. Dobbins going down with a season-ending knee injury in the Ravens' preseason finale in Washington was tough to watch.
Head Coach John Harbaugh certainly struggled with it. A clip from "Wired" showed Harbaugh sitting with Lamar Jackson and Anthony Levine Sr. on the bench, lamenting the loss and his decision to have Dobbins play.
"I just wanted to get the offense one series, just to be together," Harbaugh said as he shook his head. "I'm not going to be able to get over it right now. I'll get over it, but I'm not going to get over it right now."
Levine and Jackson offered their support, saying the injury could have happened on the first series in the Las Vegas opener or even in practice.
It was an eye-opening scene, watching a head coach be so raw with his genuine emotion and his players step up to support their leader. How many NFL head coaches would be so real in that moment?
Harbaugh talked about the scene Thursday after the full episode of “Wired” was released.
"I remember it happening when it happened. I'll tell you what, I needed it right about then. It got me back in the game, because I was pretty much out," Harbaugh said. "I was on the mat a little bit, just walking through that as much as you can with J.K. and feeling all the things that you feel in that moment. So, for those guys to say what they did, that's just the way our guys approach it. I think that's the way we all look at it. It meant a lot."
Harbaugh was asked whether moments like that happen a lot with his team.
"Yes, those things happen a lot – around the building [or] at practice with everybody," he said. "I know we really work hard to be connected as a team [and] as a family, so those things do happen quite a bit."
A couple days after Dobbins' injury, Harbaugh said "it’s a fair conversation" to have about how much, if any, action the starters should see in preseason games.
Jackson said it was "tough" watching Dobbins go down before what was expected to be a huge second season.
"He came in, he [was] working hard – coming in off the offseason – working hard to be 'RB1' or whatever people say," Jackson said. "Then he goes down the last game of the preseason. That's tough seeing that. That's my brother, at the end of the day. I wanted to see him cherish and ball out this season. But it's all good, because we're going to have him next year. But that was a tough loss, for sure."
