Ravens right guard Kevin Zeitler has had a lot to be thankful for recently. He hosted a boisterous bunch of teammates for a Thanksgiving dinner defined by two turkeys, two hams, a full dessert table and Patrick Ricard putting down more plates than anyone, per Zeitler’s estimation.
Three days later, he and friends contributed to a 20-10 win against the Los Angeles Chargers on Nov. 26, helping send the team into its bye week in good spirits.
The Week 13 bye is the second-latest possible time for a break, but he and the 9-3 Ravens have done just fine focusing on the tasks directly ahead.
“I think a late bye is really nice,” Zeitler said on Glenn Clark Radio Nov. 28. “Just powering through the first 12 weeks like that, it’s a grind, but to get a little rest, try to heal up to finish off the season, I think it will do us some good.”
Zeitler, the No. 27 overall selection of the 2012 NFL Draft and a 12-year veteran, is in the midst of a third successful season in Baltimore. The 6-foot-4, 340-pound lineman has started all 12 games this season, a routine occurrence for a player who has never missed more than four games in a year.
His play has put the team in a position to succeed, but as someone who has already witnessed multiple late-season flameouts in Baltimore, the five-time playoff participant is preaching the importance of focusing on the future.
“I think we’ve done some good things, and it’s fun. We want to acknowledge what we’ve done, but we have a long way to go, a lot of things to learn, and a lot of things to get better at,” Zeitler said. “[If] we take advantage of this bye, [if] we can get it going to finish out strong, the sky’s the limit.”
Zeitler has only allowed two sacks on the season, according to Pro Football Focus, giving quarterback Lamar Jackson time to provide his weapons with scoring opportunities. That makes Zeitler’s commitment well worth the bruises.
Zeitler’s team-first, goal-oriented mindset has rubbed off on the team, and he is proud to be on the same page as everyone else.
“I’m just trying to do anything I can to help this team win,” he said. “We’ve got some good things going for us right now, and I think I feed off that energy. I try to give it everything I’ve got, and the biggest thing right now is we take advantage of the team we have.”
Zeitler has helped fortify one of the league’s stronger offensive lines, and his respect for the game as an individual earned him a nomination for the 2023 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award, much to his own surprise.
“It did catch me off guard, you just never expect something like that,” he said. “But it’s actually pretty cool. I like to play hard, play the game the way it’s supposed to be played, but I don’t ever want to lose my head out there. I think it shows being able to stay in control.”
Zeitler will use the bye week to reflect on the habits his Ravens need to maintain as well as what they can change. He spots a wide-open window in the AFC, as no conference contender holds a better record than Baltimore.
“We have a nice team right now, and everyone understands the situation and things we’ve done in past years and whatnot, and it’s great,” Zeitler said. “We’ve come out strong, but we need to finish up the right way.”
For more from Zeitler, listen to the full interview here:
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