The head coach of the Baltimore Ravens quoted Scripture during his post-game press conference Saturday, saying he wanted to “give glory and honor where it’s due” after his team advanced to the city’s first home AFC Championship game in over five decades.
John Harbaugh’s comments came after his top-seeded Ravens broke a halftime tie to defeat the Houston Texans 34-10 in the NFL divisional round. Baltimore will play the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in the AFC title game, the first time since 1971 that Baltimore has hosted the game.
Harbaugh began his news conference by quoting 1 Chronicles 29:11.
“This is something that was sent to me before the game. It is just meaningful to me. So I'm going to share it with you because I think it's the right thing to do,” Harbaugh said at the news conference. “And it's a verse. ‘Greatness, power, glory, victory, and honor belong to You because everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. The kingdom belongs to You, Lord. You are the head and the ruler over everything.’
“I want to give honor and glory where it’s due.”
— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) January 21, 2024
Ravens coach John Harbaugh reads from scripture and gives glory to the Lord after their divisional playoff win vs Houston.pic.twitter.com/yOJR5yxD5e
Harbaugh added, “There's amazing spirit on this team. And I just want to kind of give honor and glory where it's due.”
The Ravens finished the regular season with the NFL’s best record (13-4) and are a favorite to advance to their first Super Bowl since the 2012 season. Their quarterback, Lamar Jackson, is a favorite to win the league’s MVP award.
“Lamar just played out of his mind along with our defense,” Harbaugh said. “Everybody did. I'm proud of our guys. It's the first step.”
Harbaugh is in his 16th season as Ravens coach and has a record of 160-99 during that stretch. Baltimore has made the playoffs 11 times during his stint there.
He discussed his faith last year during an interview on the Sports Spectrum Podcast.
“To me, success is alignment with God,” he said. “Perfect success would be perfect alignment with God and God’s will. … He knows what our true desires are, what our purpose is, so trying to find that purpose through connection with God -- being connected and filled with the spirit of God, the Holy Spirit -- that is success.”
He added: “Really, (walking with Christ) comes down to trust, I do believe. I trust providence. I trust God’s will, His plan. As much as anything, try to put it in His hands because when you look back, you can see where He’s brought you.
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Jason Miller/Stringer
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
