Some games are bigger than others.
And the Baltimore Ravens are going all-in for Thursday Night Football this week, changing their uniforms and unveiling a new must-see helmet.
It marks the first time in franchise history that the Ravens have worn non-black helmets.
“You know what the flock going on,” tweeted Baltimore wide receiver Zay Flowers, while displaying a purple uniform with a raven prominently displayed on the helmet.
The ‘Purple Rising’ gear will be unveiled against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals, as Lamar Jackson attempts to stay on a historic MVP path and the Ravens look to keep pace with Patrick Mahomes‘ Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC.
“This is fire!!!” one fan tweeted.
“Beautiful,” a second fan posted.
“New helmets are hittin,” a third fan said.
The special uniforms were revealed by Baltimore in June.
Since then, Derrick Henry has become the NFL’s leading rusher, while Jackson enters Thursday night’s game topping the league in passer rating.
Baltimore had previously sported purple jerseys as part of the Color Rush uniforms.
For an international TNF streaming audience, the Ravens have matched the bold jerseys with new helmets to complete the ‘Purple Rising’ effect.
The Ravens’ new uniforms were a big hit with players[/caption]
Baltimore wore a non-black helmet for the first team[/caption]
A familiar Ravens logo was front and center[/caption]
An alternate logo Raven is impossible to miss, while gold details also stand out on the helmet.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” Ravens senior VP of marketing Brad Downs said on The Lounge podcast.
“We know our fans have clamored for it. They just like new stuff. But our uniforms have a nice traditional feel and we’ve had a lot of success in them.
“We don’t want to be that team that changes all the time. We like the tradition that we’ve built.
“We’ve thought about this for years. I think I had at least 14 options of helmets, and that doesn’t even include swapping decals, locals, stripes.
“We narrowed it down to two, and this is the direction that we went.”
Baltimore wore the ‘Purple Rising’ helmets during practice to break them in for TNF against the Bengals.
“They hard, bro,” Ravens corner back Arthur Maulet said.
“I can’t wait to put them on. I’m a purple guy. I’m from New Orleans. So (it’s) one of my favorite colors.
“Purple is for royalty and loyalty. That’s king color right there. I can’t wait to put (on) the purple and gold.”
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