As Michael Pierce slid to the grass, the entire Ravens sideline was going nuts.
At the end of the Ravens' 35-10 AFC North-clinching win over the Browns, Baltimore's 355-pound nose tackle dropped into coverage, jumped a route, and snatched the first interception of his eight-year career.
It was an iconic moment for the heaviest player on Baltimore's defense, but his first thought was to not ruin it.
"There's a long history of turning big-guy interceptions and fumbles into memes, so at the risk of ruining a career-play like that for myself, it's time to go home," Pierce said with a smile. "The bus was out of gas."
As Pierce ran to the sideline, he was mobbed by his teammates. Everyone on the bench was jumping up and down and Pierce was surrounded by teammates. The scene was comparable to a game-clinching pick, not one that came with a 25-point lead.
"That was the funniest thing I think I've ever seen," safety Ar'Darius Washington said. "That was cool though. It's amazing to see a big guy like that pick it off and run. All the guys wanted to come off the sideline and celebrate with him."
The postgame locker room was filled with smiles whenever Pierce's interception came up. Head Coach John Harbaugh, who gave Pierce a game ball, couldn't wait to be asked about the play, bringing it up unprompted in his opening statement.
"One other thing I have to mention here – and we'll get started with the questions – is we did a bunch of game balls. We closed out with Michael Pierce, obviously," Harbaugh said. "The most crazy, amazing play in NFL history."
Pierce thinks Harbaugh's words were a little hyperbolic, but others were not so sure. As Pierce was exiting the locker room, a Ravens staffer dapped him up and told him it was pound-for-pound the best play he had ever seen.
"That was a perfect way to end the regular season," defensive lineman Broderick Washington said. "It was awesome. That's the OG. He comes in every day, goes to work and just grinds. He doesn't say much. He just goes to work. When he talks, you listen. That's Big MP."
The interception was historic, as Pierce became the first player at his weight to record and interception since at least 2000, according to the Baltimore Banner’s Jonas Shaffer. It also marked Pierce's first interception since 2009, when he was a junior at Daphne High in Alabama.
It was a moment Pierce will never forget, and while some thought Pierce should have tried to take it the distance, he's just happy he didn't mess up his highlight.
"I'll be honest; I don't want to curse in front of the cameras, but my immediate reaction was ''S' word, he really threw this football,'" Pierce said. "I'm glad I caught it. And like I said, I don't want to end up a meme. I don't want my wife or family laughing at me. So, I did the right thing, I got down and left it right there."
