John Harbaugh hopes Batimore Ravens receiver Zay Flowers' London touchdown is rookie's 'first olive'
Rookie receiver Zay Flowers grabbed his first NFL touchdown with a 10-yard reception in the second quarter of Baltimore Ravens' 24-16 win over Tennessee Titans in the final London game of the season at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Sunday 15 October 2023 22:15, UK
John Harbaugh compared Zay Flowers’ first NFL touchdown to opening a jar of olives after it helped the Baltimore Ravens to a 24-16 win over the Tennessee Titans in the final London game of the season.
The rookie receiver, selected by the Ravens out of Boston College with the 22nd pick of this year's draft, had to wait until the sixth week of the 2023 season to get his first score after connecting with a 10-yard pass from Lamar Jackson towards the end of the second quarter.
That touchdown, plus six field goals from Baltimore's ever-reliable kicker Justin Tucker, set them on course for victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and head coach Harbaugh was delighted to see Flowers' strong start to his NFL career finally rewarded.
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"Zay has obviously made so many nice plays for us and he didn't have a touchdown," Harbaugh said of Flowers, who totalled 50 yards from six receptions with an average of 8.3 yards.
"He's only a rookie, but we're pretty far into the season at game six for him to get his first touchdown. I just have visions of our future touchdowns.
"It's like olives - did you ever open an olive jar? If you open an olive jar, do the olives come pouring out? They don't.
"You've got to get the first one out and once you get the first one out, the rest of them fall out. Hopefully that was Zay's first olive and there are many more to come."
Some big defensive efforts helped Baltimore keep the Titans at bay as well, with Jadeveon Clowney and Justin Madubuike both coming up with two sacks.
Linebacker Clowney joined the Ravens on a one-year contract ahead of the 2023 after being released by the Cleveland Browns, and Harbaugh was full of praise for his contributions against another of his former clubs in Tennessee.
"We've been playing against him all these years and we've always admired the way he plays," Harbaugh said.
"He had the sacks today, he had the run stops today, and he's been a great addition to our team.
"He's a guy who has always been a Raven, but he didn't know it until he got here. The rest of the pass rush...a lot of guys stepped up today."
Although admitting there are still improvements to make for the Ravens, now 4-2 following the win over the Titans, Harbaugh relished both the win and the atmosphere in London.
"It's a great feeling - it's better than the alternative by far," Harbaugh said. "It's a great experience and much better when we win.
"I love being here, the fans were great and I love the singing. I thought they were very knowledgeable, they know the game over here and that was impressive to see."
Jackson: We've got to punch it in
Ravens quarterback Jackson admitted to some frustration that they were not able to make more of their possessions in the Titans redzone after securing victory at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Flowers' touchdown was the only scoring possession which did not end in a field goal for Baltimore and Jackson cited that as an area for improvement if they are to make a run at the playoffs.
"We just have to find a way, lock in more," Jackson said. "We do a great job driving the ball down the field, but it's like every time we get there, it's like we're just kicking field goals…We don't need that.
"The biggest emphasis was we caught the ball this week; we drove the ball down the field, we protected it except for that one interception.
"We've got to punch it in, that's going to help out defense out a lot. They're doing a great job protecting us."
Harbaugh was pleased to see signs of improvement from Baltimore after what has, at times, been a hit-and-miss first six games of the campaign and set a continuation of that progress as his immediate target.
"It's early season, no championships are won in weeks four, five or six...so we kind of look in terms of what are we capable of becoming," Harbaugh said.
"We've lost some games we should have won, we've played good football in stretches but we've made mistakes and shot ourselves in the foot too many times.
"What success looks like now is heart - overcoming through adversity, keep fighting to the end, finding a way to win, and make plays where it counts and keep improving."
