Odafe Oweh had long imagined the sort of game he had Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.
It has felt like the 2021 first-round pick, who looks like he was sculpted from clay to torment quarterbacks, hadn't quite finished in the kiln.
In the Ravens' sunny home opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, it finally came together with 2.5 sacks – Oweh's first career multi-sack game. His burst off the edge, his technique, his finish. It was all there in his breakout game.
But the game's result, a surprising 26-23 loss, put a damper on Oweh's party. And beyond that, it just didn't feel like Oweh expected.
"I was like, 'Alright, I was doing this all practice. OK, I did it [in the game] now. Now I want to get more,'" Oweh said. "I just keep getting more hungry, more plays, start chasing that rush of making those plays. It felt good, but it didn't feel as good as I wanted it to. I wanted more."
The Ravens bet on Oweh's breakout, picking up his fifth-year option in May to ensure he will be in purple and black through the 2025 season. General Manager Eric DeCosta said before the season started that watching Oweh dominate in summer practices made him even more confident that was the right decision.
It was a leap of faith if judging by the stats alone. Oweh had 13 sacks through his first three years, including five last season. But the Ravens saw Oweh's improvement, even if the surface-level stats didn't show it.
In Week 1, Oweh missed a sack on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. It was a glimpse back at a too-familiar sight from last season, when Oweh had a top 20 pass rush win rate among all NFL outside linebackers, per Pro Football Focus, but finished tied for 85th in sacks.
That was frustrating, as was the fact that in part due to injuries that cost him four games, Oweh had significantly fewer pass rush opportunities. Although Oweh and Jadeveon Clowney, who had 9.5 sacks for Baltimore last season, had identical pass rush win rates (23.7), Clowney had 297 pass rushes to Oweh's 183.
Oweh had to remain patient, with both his opportunities and himself. Asked what he attributes his breakout game to, Oweh looked at the big picture.
"Just staying relentless in the rush and in the run [and] not worrying about what people say," he said. "Just continuing to work hard and just trust in the process.
"It does a lot for my confidence moving forward and then for the team, too – they can rely on me, too. It definitely feels good. I know there's still a bunch of more games to go."
Those in the know knew what was to come for Oweh. A month ago, while on Mina Kimes' podcast, star New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordon included Oweh among his list of the top NFL pass rushers – even if he couldn't remember his name.
On Sunday, Oweh will share the field with another pass rusher who needs no introduction. Penn State college teammate Micah Parsons has quickly established himself as one of the NFL's top defensive threats with the Cowboys.
Oweh and Parsons have often been compared because they're both athletic freaks. But Oweh isn't in competition.
"I know who I am. It's a blessing that it's being actualized now," Oweh said. "I can't say that I'm not happy, but I know that there's still another level to go, and there's still even more things that I want to do better."
