Many Ravens fans who came to M&T Bank Stadium for Saturday night's debut left happy that they got to see wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane, the buzz of training camp, score a touchdown.
The man who threw Lane that pass, Joe Fagnano, had his own cheering squad, too.
It was a special debut for the Ravens' rookie quarterback competing for the No. 3 spot behind Lamar Jackson and veteran backup Tyler Huntley. In his first NFL game action, Fagnano provided both highlights and heart-warming moments.
Fagnano went 22-of-28 for 224 yards and a touchdown. His one mistake, an interception in the end zone when he tried to squeeze a pass into tight coverage, was also a fantastic play by Eagles cornerback Kelee Ringo.
Overall, Fagnano had an eye-opening performance, one that his family celebrated enthusiastically from the stands.
"Man, he clearly handled it pretty well. Major shout out to him," Head Coach Jesse Minter said of Fagnano.
"The more opportunities he has gotten over the last week, the better he has played. And it is a credit to him because he did not get a ton of reps, and he has never gone in there and not known what to do, not known how to operate, not known how to run the huddle. So major props to Joe."
Fagnano was part of the Ravens' initial undrafted rookie class and came with an impressive college resume as one of the most productive quarterbacks in program history at both Connecticut (2023-2025) and Maine (2019-2022). In his final season at UConn, Fagnano tossed 28 touchdowns to just one interception, threw for 3,448 yards, and completed 69% of his passes.
But news of Fagnano's signing was overshadowed by the other rookie quarterback in the undrafted class, 2025 Heisman Trophy runner-up Diego Pavia. Fagnano kept his head down and competed with Pavia and veteran Skylar Thompson throughout OTAs and minicamp, and when training camp opened, the Ravens narrowed the competition to Fagnano and Thompson. Thompson was placed on injured reserve on Aug. 12, leaving Fagnano as the leader for the No. 3 job. On Saturday night, he took a step forward in winning it.
"It was a blast," Fagnano said. "I just take it one day at a time. Being an undrafted guy, opportunities may come, [or] they may not come, and I'm just looking to be ready for when they do. It doesn't really matter who's in the room. I'm just trying to control what I can control and focus on me and try to help this football team win games and do what I can."
