Rashod Bateman Prepares to Make Plays With Zay Flowers Sidelined
Rashod Bateman is fully prepared to help fill the void left by Zay Flowers (knee), who has been ruled out for Saturday night's wild-card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"Zay's my guy, that's my partner," Bateman said. "But as an organization we're ready to go no matter who's on the field.
"I don't think it changes anything. The No. 1 goal is to go out and make plays, and that's what we're looking forward to doing, and I think that's what we'll do."
With a career-high nine touchdown catches and 756 receiving yards this season, Bateman has established himself as a go-to receiver during a year when Flowers (74 catches, 1,059 yards, four touchdowns) made the Pro Bowl for the first time.
Asked what he needs to do to be successful in the playoffs, Bateman said, "Just be myself."
"Don't go out there and do anything that I haven't done or try to be anything extra," Bateman said. "Just be myself and make plays."
Bateman has gained separation from defensive backs consistently, including Week 18 against the Cleveland Browns, when he came wide open for an easy touchdown throw from Lamar Jackson. Bateman was the Ravens' leading receiver in the AFC North clinching win with five catches for 76 yards.
Flowers is an elite playmaker who is difficult to defend, but the Ravens had the NFL's No. 1 offense during the regular season, led by a multitude of playmakers. Derrick Henry led the league with 16 rushing touchdowns, Jackson had a career-high 41 touchdown passes, and Mark Andrews had a career-high 11 touchdown catches.
Even with Flowers on the sideline, Bateman says the Ravens have the firepower to make a Super Bowl run if they execute and avoid turnovers.
"Our confidence level is high," Bateman said. "I'm not saying it wasn't last year. But this team is connected and has a better understanding of the offense. The vibe, the energy, is different this year. It's amazing and it's a good feeling. I knew it was possible, that's why I'm here. This organization believed in me and I thank (General Manager) Eric DeCosta for giving me another opportunity to showcase myself with this team.
"It's a crazy moment for me. But honestly, that doesn't mean anything now. We've got to go out and play well on Saturday."
Justice Hill Is Glad to Be Back After Scary Moment
Justice Hill is back after missing the final two games of the regular season. Hill went down at the end of a 25-yard run against the Steelers on Dec. 21. Now he wants to pick up where he left off.
"It's definitely nice to be back, especially for a playoff game," Hill said Thursday.
"It definitely was scary. For me, I was fine – kind of. Obviously, it was just something I hadn't been through before. Even when I get hurt on a play, I usually always hop up. That was a little different. I'm all good. I'm ready to go win a Super Bowl and make it all count."
Hill is a major part of the Ravens offense as the No. 2 back behind Derrick Henry. Despite missing two games, he has the fifth-most targets on the team and caught a career-high 42 passes for 383 yards and three touchdowns.
He's also a key part of the Ravens' pass protection, which comes more into play against a heavy blitzing team such as the Steelers. With Flowers out, Hill could see more opportunities.
"I think we're all capable of making plays," Hill said. "Obviously Zay is a big loss. He's a special player. Hopefully it heals up really soon and he's back here for the run. But we can all step up and make plays."
John Harbaugh Likes the Vibes He's Getting This Week
This is Head Coach John Harbaugh's 12th trip to the playoffs in his 17 seasons with the Ravens, and he believes the team has enjoyed a strong week of preparation.
On Thursday, practice was moved indoors after outdoor practices on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"We got all of our fast work (outside), all of our timing," Harbaugh said. "You get used to throwing and catching in the cold, the wind blowing the ball around – those kinds of things and bumping into each other as much as we can in practice and in the cold. Today was an execution day. Today was a 'mental sweat,' we like to call it sometimes. We were chasing perfect technique, perfect communication and perfect execution today."
Harbaugh likes the vibes he has gotten from the team this week and believes the players are ready to put their best foot forward. He sees a business-like and loose team.
"They're ready to go. They've worked hard," Harbaugh said. "We don't look at it like a new season; we look at it like an extension of the season. We are who we are based on what we've done and how hard we've worked, and we want to keep building on that and play our best football right now."
Daniel Faalele Was the Ravens' Iron Man This Season
There's a famous quote from former NFL coach Bill Parcells: "The best ability is availability."
While there's been much said about his performance as a first-year starter, when it comes to being available, no Raven played more snaps this year than right guard Daniel Faalele.
Faalele missed just three offense snaps the entire season – 1,107 in total. Center Tyler Linderbaum came in second with 1,094 snaps.
"I feel super proud about it. The No. 1 thing for me is to be available for the team," Faalele said. "I had a bunch of good vets coming into the league. Seeing how [Kevin] Zeitler and Morgan [Moses] would always prepare and practice and play just made me want to stay health, available, and always ready to go."
What's especially impressive about Faalele's accomplishment is how far he's come. The biggest guard in the NFL at 6-foot-8, 380 pounds, Faalele sometimes struggled to get through hot training camp practices in previous years.
This offseason and in training camp, he worked with a nutritionist to get leaner and in better shape. The results have spoken for themselves for a player who was named an AFC Pro Bowl alternate this season.
