TAMPA — The Baltimore Ravens may believe the easiest way to advance the football through the air Monday night against the Bucs is to get past cornerback Tyrek Funderburk.
The rookie from Appalachian State made his first NFL appearance on defense in the second quarter of Tampa Bay’s 51-27 win Sunday in New Orleans.
The undrafted free agent was the player the Bucs turned to when starter Jamel Dean suffered a hamstring injury. Funderburk also gave up his first touchdown — a 10-yard pass from rookie Spencer Rattler to Saints receiver Bub Means.
“Before my first play, Coach (Todd) Bowles called me over and said, ‘Just play your game. Be confident,’” Funderburk said.
The touchdown aside, Funderburk played well, recording four tackles and forcing a fumble.
“He had some big eyes on the sidelines,” said co-defensive coordinator Larry Foote. “As a coach, you kind of want to be cool and don’t freak them out. But every young guy gets baptized in this league. We knew he was smart, and he had a good training camp for us and he’s going to grow.
“My main message was, ‘Welcome to the club. It ain’t going to be the (last) touchdown you give up. Just keep on swinging.’ That has to be your disposition. You have to have a short-term memory.”
Dean is expected to miss the game against the Ravens, meaning Funderburk will likely make his first NFL start against two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson.
The quarterback puts a lot of pressure on any defense with his ability to pass and run the football. In addition to passing for 1,529 yards and 10 touchdowns with only two interceptions, Jackson is the Ravens’ second-leading rusher behind Derrick Henry with 402 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Still, Funderburk is embracing the opportunity.
“In terms of challenges, I don’t think there were too many,” he said. “I think it’s just the speed of the game, like, it happens a lot quicker, and being able to understand the things that are new that are coming to you. It’s going to be kind of a routine thing to see the rest of that game. So, just being able to pick up on things on the fly.”
Funderburk was surprised the Saints didn’t go after him more after he allowed the touchdown pass.
“I think that was more of a rookie thing (with Rattler),” Funderburk said. “He’s a rookie, so he doesn’t know. ‘I should probably try the other rookie.’ He just came in the game. That was the first snaps of the season.
“It’s confidence-building for me, especially going into Monday night.”
On the touchdown pass, Funderburk was beaten off the line of scrimmage and had inside leverage on Means. But he was caught staring into the backfield, and it cost him.
“I tried to tell him my experiences, how it was my rookie year,” said third-year cornerback Zyon McCollum. “... Mainly, play a good game, try to be as aggressive as you can, obviously understanding what you can’t give up. The biggest thing I told him was stay on your feet when you’re tackling and play aggressive. That was pretty much it.”
After yielding the touchdown, that’s what Funderburk did. It helped that he had safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead behind him.
“It’s huge,” Funderburk said. “Antoine and J-White, they’d tell me what to do, even though I knew what to do. Just alerting.”
After the game, Funderburk fielded telephone calls and text messages from family and friends who witnessed his first NFL action on defense.
“My phone definitely blew up,” he said. “My high school coach. College coaches. Teammates from school. Family, of course. My family was super excited. They sit around, no matter how much I play, they don’t care. They’re just trying to support our team. But obviously, once I got in there it was huge, and I’m extremely excited.”
Bowles knows how explosive the Ravens offense can be. But he saw enough from Funderburk against the Saints to know he can trust him to step up again.
“I thought he did well,” Bowles said. “Obviously, he learned a lot of things while he was out there, but he settled down and played some football for us and he was in the right place. I know he got beat for the touchdown — his eyes were in the wrong place — but I thought he played well. I thought he wasn’t too afraid of the moment, and he’s only going to get better.”
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