The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game, falling victim to Patrick Mahomes and company. Baltimore had a great regular season, but couldn’t come through when it mattered most in the postseason.
“Absolutely. I have an immense amount of respect for every single guy that stepped on the field with me this year on the defensive side of the ball. Just knowing all that we’ve been through [with] the guys that were injured, [who] got injured, IR [Injured Reserve] guys [and guys who] were injured and came back. I just know what it means to actually have, in my short six years in the game, just having a group of truly unselfish dudes [who] don’t really care who gets the credit [and] all celebrate one another. It’s hard to find that in football let alone in life, because most human beings [are] selfish in your own way, even though you may not know it. Just seeing how many selfless guys who were willing to put it all on the line for one another, it inspires you. That’s definitely the part that sucks for me [is] just knowing each and every guy how we all roll together [and] do whatever for each other. To just let ourselves down like that, it sucks. That’s definitely a part of the emotions that you feel in a sense. At the end of the day, it’s life. How are you going to respond when you get hit in the mouth in a sense? [When] you get hit in the mouth, how are you going to respond? Everyone has a plan, but the plan didn’t go as it should have for us. Hats off to those guys for getting the job done at the end of the day.”
Ravens inside linebacker Roquan Smith was one of the many success stories on the team in 2023, and reflected on the year that he had with his teammates. He said that he has an immense amount of respect for everyone who stepped on the field with him, and talked about injuries as well as the camaraderie in the locker room.