A couple of weeks before the Dallas game, Ravens assistant offensive line coach Shawn Flaherty asked Vega Ioane to take a few practice snaps at center. Just in case they needed him there.
On Sunday, they needed him there.
Jovaughn Gwyn left with an ankle injury. Ethan Pocic replaced him, then went out with a knee injury late in the fourth quarter. Baltimore turned to its rookie guard at a point when there wasn’t much time to figure things out. These were Ioane’s first regular-season snaps at center.
According to Ryan Mink’s report for the Ravens, Ioane handled eight snaps on the final touchdown drive. Baltimore took the lead with less than two minutes left and eventually beat Dallas 34–31. His first shotgun snap was a little low, but Lamar Jackson handled it. That’s worth keeping in the story: he didn’t need to be perfect to help the offense keep moving.
What stayed with me was how Ioane described looking over at John Simpson and Carson Vinson. In the team’s postgame transcript, he said, “I looked over at them, and they weren’t worried about anything, so what do I have to be worried about?”
I love that response. He’s suddenly playing a different position with the game still undecided, and the guys beside him are calm. He can settle in and do his part. The practice reps gave him somewhere to start, and their confidence helped him get on with it.
Jesse Minter credited both Ioane and offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford after the game. The staff had been giving the rookie some work there, and he was ready when they had to use him. That’s an easy detail to lose in a game that ended with the seven-second drive and Tyler Loop’s winning kick.
I watched that game, and Ioane made a fan out of me. Eight snaps don’t tell us what his whole career will look like or settle where he should play. But when the Ravens ran out of centers, he stepped in and helped them finish a touchdown drive they needed. To me, the kid is the real deal.