Roquan Smith
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Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith harassed Joe Flaccon and the Browns all day Sunday.
Roquan Smith and the Baltimore Ravens put their awful Week 1 performance behind them, and the Ravens linebacker was recognized for his efforts.
Smith was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week after his 15-tackle performance in Baltimore’s 41-17 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
It was somehow Smith’s first Defensive Player of the Week honor in his eight-season NFL career, split between Baltimore and the Chicago Bears. He became the first Ravens player to earn the honor since Kyle Hamilton in Week 16 of the 2023 NFL season.
Smith is also the first Ravens linebacker to win DPOW since Justin Houston in Week 9 of 2022.
Of course, Smith and the Ravens put the ill effects of their 41-40 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 on the road and improved to 1-1. The Ravens will try to make it two straight wins when they host the also 1-1 Detroit Lions on Monday night at M&T Bank Stadium.
Why Did Roquan Smith Win AFC Defensive Player Of The Week?
Smith joined an impressive list of former Georgia linebackers honored as one of the DPOWs — becoming the seventh ‘Dawgs alum honored, including Houston who has been a three-time recipient.
Yet, not only did the middle linebacker set a season high for tackles by a single player, but he had an eye-popping three tackles for loss — tied for the most in the league — and two hits on Browns quarterback Joe Flacco.
Yet, Smith likely earned the conference-wide honor due to his win-sealing, 63-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown that gave the Ravens a 34-10 advantage midway through the fourth quarter.
Was It Roquan Smith’s Best Game?
That Smith finally was honored as the defensive player of the week would suggest his performance Sunday was the best in a single game in his career. Yet, both Smith and his coach deflected when asked if it was the top game they had seen Smith play.
“I don’t know if that’s his best game ever. Probably he could answer that better,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “I’ve seen so many good ones. It’s in that category, but he’s such a consistent player. … That’s probably why it’s such a hard question to answer, because he plays so well pretty much every week.”
Buoyed by his standout week, Smith is the seventh-ranked linebacker by Pro-Football Focus (90.0), and his 91.9 grade was the second-highest defensive grade of any player in Week 2 from PFF — only Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers performed better of any defensive player with more than 10 snaps this weekend.
Still, when asked about his performance — and whether it was the best of his potentially Hall of Fame career — Smith deferred.
“I don’t really look into all that,” he said. “My job is to just go out each and every week, play to the best of my ability, and that’s just what I do. [I’ll] let everybody else decide if it’s the best game or not. That’s not my decision. I’m just focused on being the best teammate, best leader and best linebacker for the guys.”