(AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
In his rookie season, Zay Flowers came as advertised for the Baltimore Ravens.
Unfortunately, his stellar first year will be remembered for two extremely uncharacteristic errors from the usually calm, cool and collected receiver at the worst possible time.
Down 17-7 in the final minute of the third quarter of the AFC Championship on Sunday, Flowers had a 54 yard catch and run down to the KC 10. After the big play that was about to seemingly shift momentum, Flowers got up and taunted the Chiefs’ L’Jarius Snead, drawing a 15 yard flag and moving the ball back to the Kansas City 25. Two plays later, Flowers hauled in a ball for 14 yards that gave Baltimore a fresh set of downs and appeared to make up for the costly decision.
Two plays after that on the first snap of the fourth quarter, Flowers had an all-too-familiar catch and run for eight yards that looked like it was going to end in a touchdown as he drove across the goal line with two hands on the ball as he reached out. Unfortunately, Snead got his measure of revenge, punching it out just before the one yard line and the Chiefs recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
An obviously frustrated Flowers was then shown slamming his helmet on the sideline. The demonstrative reaction from Zay was so odd to see coming from the guy who never seemed to have a bad day.
The Ravens never got the momentum back and went out with a whimper.
The electric playmaker finished the year with 77 catches for 858 yards and five touchdowns. He also had eight carries for 56 yards and a rushing touchdown. In two playoff games, Flowers had nine grabs for 156 yards and a touchdown (5/115/1 in the AFC Championship).
None of that matters now.
As anyone who has ever been around him would expect, Flowers faced the music and talked to the media postgame.
“Yes, I thought I did, honestly, but I’ll learn from my mistakes,” he said when asked if he thought he scored before the ball was punched out.
It’s hard to believe, but it’s as if Odell Beckham Jr. and his old ways creeped into Flowers’ game in the biggest moments on Sunday. As Kansas City wrapped up the win, cameras showed Beckham Jr. consoling Flowers. He talked about the message he had for the rookie postgame.
“[I] was just letting Zay know [that] he’s going to be a special player, and this is a moment in [his] career that … It’s never going to break you,” said Beckham. “it’s always going to make you. And just being able to be there for him however I can…Zay is forever ‘Little Bro’ to me, and all of these guys in that room can call – I’m one call away any single time, regardless of the outcome today. Just being able to share that moment with him … Like, ‘Bro you’re going to be straight.’ It’s tough. Yes, you may hear something about this, [but] it’s just the way that the world is. That’s how they’re going to be.
“So, [I told him to] just keep his head, just like everybody else in here. There is no one play that defines a game. There was still a lot of football that was left in the game. But these moments you’ll be able to learn from and become a better man [and] a better player – [from] all of those things.”
Ironically enough, earlier in the week on Thursday, Flowers was asked about not making moments more than they are, something he excelled in at Boston College.
“I just go day by day. I follow the vets’ leads, and I just go out and play football. I don’t try to make it too big or too small, I just try to stay neutral and come out and do what I do,” he said.
Head coach John Harbaugh was asked about the play, specifically if he and his coaching staff teach guys not to reach out over the goal line. It’s a mind-numbingly dumb decision given the negative consequences outweigh the positives in that moment, yet it’s something we’ve seen more and more of over the years with similar results.
“We coach two hands when you reach for the end zone,” he said. “He had two hands on the ball.”
During his time at BC, Flowers unfortunately found himself in a position of having to be the happy guy picking everyone up all the time even when things weren’t going right for the Eagles, but it was a role he relished. Flowers has always had a smile on his face in the face of adversity throughout his life and will unquestionably bounce back from this.
But, he’s also never faced nearly the amount of criticism from a laissez faire BC fan base that he will from the rabid Baltimore fans. Stunningly, the shoe is now on the other foot, as the Ravens will need to lift their future superstar first round draft pick up for a bit after what unfolded.
“We’ll just try to come back next year and get it done. [We’ll] come back together as a team,” Flowers added. “This is a tough one, so we have to work towards next year…those are my brothers – they are going to ride with me no matter what. That’s all.”