Tyler Huntley made his preseason reps count Thursday night in the Baltimore Ravens’ 23-10 win over the Tennessee Titans.
The former Utah quarterback and Ravens backup completed 16 of 18 passes for 109 yards and a well-executed touchdown toss to the corner of the end zone in one half of play, shaking off the rust of some shoulder tendonitis he’s dealt with this offseason.
The performance led his coach to speak highly of the third-year undrafted QB.
“Tyler played great, his numbers were off the charts,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh told reporters. “He really ran the offense well, and his timing was really good in the passing game.”
How well?
While Thursday night’s game wasn’t his best during the preseason — last year, Huntley threw for 285 yards and four touchdowns with a 138.3 rating in a commanding win over Washington — it was another strong showing of Huntley’s development.
Against the Titans, Huntley posted a QB rating of 110.4 with an 88.9% completion percentage, and at one point, he completed his final 10 passes of the first half.
“It felt good to be back in the stadium with the fans and the Ravens. That’s always a good thing,” Huntley said in his postgame press conference.
This comes after Huntley earned some valuable game experience last season, filling in for starter Lamar Jackson at the end of the year when Jackson was out with an ankle injury.
Huntley started four games in 2021, competing against quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Ben Roethlisberger. While the Ravens lost his final three starts, Huntley kept Baltimore competitive in every contest; the team lost those three games by a combined five points.
Huntley, who will be a restricted free agent after this season, also remembers the star defenders he faced at the end of last season.
“I got a couple games under my belt. I played against some good players — like Aaron Donald and TJ Watt. It gave me a little confidence for the future,” he said.
Fast forward eight months, and Huntley again looked like he belongs on an NFL field.
The biggest moment for him Thursday night came when Huntley led the Ravens on 58-yard scoring drive just before halftime.
Huntley converted a fourth-and-2 situation with a 14-yard run on the 10-play drive, then converted a third-and-5 before hitting Shemar Bridges for a 14-yard touchdown pass to give Baltimore a 14-10 lead.
“They showed up,” Huntley said of his receivers. “But they’ve been showing up all camp. I didn’t expect anything different,”
On Thursday night, Huntley “showed up,” too.