The Baltimore Ravens have spent the last four years trying to return to the heights of their 2019 season. The team went 14-2 that year while Lamar Jackson took home unanimous MVP honors, but injuries and bad breaks have sidelined their success since.
Nose tackle Michael Pierce is playing in his first full campaign since that high-water mark, and his efforts against opposing offenses have helped transform the Ravens into one of the best defenses in the league. He has recovered from elbow and biceps injuries in recent years, and the team’s 7-3 start has him living out his ideal comeback story.
“Obviously, you can’t say a dream [has] come true because we’re still the middle of the season, but everything that you work for, especially in the offseason, in those dark days of recovery, going through rehab and all that stuff, this is what you envision happening,” Pierce said on Glenn Clark Radio Nov. 3. “Just to be able to be healthy, to be out here and contributing to this team’s success is everything I could’ve hoped for last season.”
Pierce developed into a staple of the formidable Ravens defense after coming to Baltimore as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He played his way into a three-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings, then returned to the Ravens in 2022.
Injuries limited him to 11 games from 2021-2022, and he missed the field just as much as his supporters have missed seeing him in action.
Pierce, 31, is back playing at a high level in 2023. He has compiled 24 tackles and a sack in starting all 10 games this season, the first time he’s eclipsed that milestone since his 14 starts in 2019. The 6-foot, 355-pound tackle’s standout performance arrived in Week 8 in Arizona when he racked up five tackles to go along with a sack, pass deflection and forced fumble.
“It’s kind of overwhelming,” he said of the reaction to his Week 8 showing. “You get the media stuff, obviously, but to have your phone blown up by college teammates, family members, friends and all that stuff, it’s great to feel that kind of love, just to know your people are proud of you. … It’s great to be on a platform, to be able to put a smile on a lot of people’s faces.”
The Ravens’ defense has developed into one of the league’s best this season, holding opponents to an average of 273.6 yards, the second-lowest mark of any team, on top of a league-low 13 touchdowns allowed. Even after their meltdown against the Cleveland Browns in a 33-31 loss on Nov. 12, this unit has proven to be a formidable band of stoppers.
Pierce continues to remember the doubters who believed that the Ravens’ defense wouldn’t meet the team’s ambitious standards. He, along with some of the league’s best defensive ends and tackles, have fallen in line behind the powerful words of Roquan Smith, someone Pierce and his teammates refer to as “Uncle Ro.”
Smith and his Ray Lewis-esque speeches help him slot in as the leader on defense, a figure for whom teammates can model their work ethic and focus.
“His pregame speeches, man, you just feel it,” Pierce said. “Being around him every day, you know that it really comes from the heart. When he says certain things, it’s not just for the cameras.”
Pierce characterized his unit as ambitious workers moving in sync, shouting out each of his teammates in demonstrating the depths of the squad.
“You see Justin Madubuike turn into the next coming of Aaron Donald,” Pierce said. “… Jadeveon Clowney has turned back the clock and been playing well, we get Odafe [Oweh] healthy. Myself, I’m back healthy so I’m contributing. Obviously Roquan, and Patrick Queen, just that front seven, let alone how Kyle Hamilton has grown. Marlon [Humphrey] is Marlon. … Those are hungry guys, some of the best in the league.”
Their talent levels, mixed with another excellent Jackson season that’s seen him operate from the pocket more than ever, give Pierce fuzzy reminders of that special 2019 campaign.
He realizes that there’s still work to be done, but it’s hard for him not to get excited at the opportunity that have greeted him upon his long-awaited return to health.
“Just like that [2019] team had, I think one core thing is we have guys who are not only together, but we have a whole bunch of guys who believe,” Pierce said. “… We have a whole bunch of guys who take pride in other people’s success, and that’s something that goes for the offense and the defense. When you have that and a belief like we have, and we’re all working toward a common goal, it’s a pretty special thing.”
For more from Pierce, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox