Somewhere, Ed Reed is smiling.
Two days after the GOAT visited the Ravens at practice, a 95-yard pitch-six touchdown return highlighted a 24-0 shutout victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
It was the Ravens' first shutout since 2018 and the first time Joe Burrow has been blanked in his six-year career. Baltimore's defense scored more points than Burrow on one play.
Outside linebacker Tavius Robinson applied quick pressure up the middle, which caused a weak throw from a stumbling Burrow. Fellow outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy picked it off and scampered 11 yards up the sideline before handing the ball to safety Alohi Gilman, who took it the other 84 yards to the end zone.
"I wasn't surprised at all," Gilman said. "I was actually yelling at him to pitch the ball after he caught it, so it worked out. I saved some hamstrings for him. Put it on me. Shout out to Kyle Van Noy. It was a great play. Shout out to the defense."
The play brought back memories of Reed pitching/lateraling to teammates during interception returns over his Hall of Fame career. Although Reed finished with the most interception return yards (1,590) in NFL history, he liked to share.
Head Coach John Harbaugh joked that there's long been a short list of players who have the green light to lateral after getting a turnover. Reed was on the list, along with a few other players.
"I told Kyle when he came off the field that he was now officially on 'The List,'" Harbaugh said with a smile.
Gilman and Van Noy do have some chemistry. They also played together for a season with the Los Angeles Chargers. That probably didn't influence Sunday's play all that much, but it didn't hurt.
Mostly, Gilman just knew the 34-year-old Van Noy wasn't going to make it all the way. Van Noy did have an interception return for a touchdown in 2021, but that was 35 yards.
"Obviously, KV's got a little age on him," Gilman said with a grin. "I was like, 'It might be a good time to do that.'"
Other Ravens teammates tipped their caps to Van Noy and Gilman for the heads-up play.
"The vet savviness of him knowing he was probably going to get caught and having 'Lo' right there and a smart and safe play by handing it to him," linebacker Roquan Smith said. "It was almost like a 4x100 relay and he was only half the relay. He knew he had to get it to the home run guy. I thought that was pretty awesome. 'Lo' ran it back to Hawaii."
Safety Kyle Hamilton pitched the ball to Kyle Van Noy after getting an interception on a two-point conversion in Buffalo in Week 1, but Van Noy knelt in the end zone on that one to end the dream.
"I've vouched for pitching the ball in a smart manner," Hamilton said. "I did it against the Bills. It had some mixed reviews within the building, but it worked today. It's part of playing football. Ed Reed was just in the building. He used to do it all the time."
Reed delivered a speech in the defensive meeting room Friday and briefly visited practice before Harbaugh paused it so Reed could talk to the entire team. He delivered a message about brotherhood on and off the field and upholding the Ravens' standard.
On Sunday, the Ravens delivered, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who also had an interception, said Reed was part of the reason.
"Ed is very unfiltered when he talks," Humphrey said. "It's always great to hear from a Ravens legend. Maybe we need a Raven to come back every week."
