Ninth-year Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce had a moment he’ll remember forever in Saturday’s 35-10 win over the Cleveland Browns as Baltimore clinched an AFC North title.
The 355-pound Pierce was in the right place at the right time as he dropped back into coverage and made an impressive play to jump the route on a ball thrown by Bailey Zappe, snagging the first interception of his career.
In a mic’d-up video posted by the Ravens on Monday night, we get a firsthand look at the instant reaction from Pierce’s teammates as seemingly every player on the team came up to congratulate him.
The entire bench erupted after the play, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, who was also mic’d-up.
Pierce was swarmed by his teammates when he returned to the sideline.
“Sacking quarterbacks, catching picks,” Jackson quipped.
And the whole world rejoiced 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/ms5hD6oLOY
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 6, 2025
Several players said they wanted Pierce to keep running instead of going down, with one telling him that he thought he was going to take it to the house.
“You ran out of gas after like three yards,” kicker Justin Tucker joked.
Pierce, who played in college at Tulane and Samford, is in his second stint with the Ravens after he went undrafted in 2016. He played in Baltimore from 2016-19 and returned in 2022 after a stint with the Minnesota Vikings.
He has appeared in 11 games this season with one start, totaling 19 tackles (one for loss) and two sacks. Now, he has an interception to add to the stat sheet.