Sergio Brown thought about saying the politically correct thing, then opted for the truth.
"Do you feel like you made a statement today, that you laid claim to the position?" the safety was asked after his standout performance in the Indianapolis Colts' 20-13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at Lucas Oil Stadium.
"Uh," he said, then paused.
"You know," he said, pausing again.
"Yeah," he finally conceded. "I feel like I went out there and put out a good product for my team. Whatever they ask me to do, I'm going to do."
Brown's performance was crucial to the Colts' third consecutive victory because he was filling in as a starter for LaRon Landry, who had been suspended last week for violating the NFL's banned substances policy. Brown, a fifth-year veteran, finished with three tackles, including a crowd-pleasing open-field stop, and a crucial fourth-down sack of Joe Flacco in the second quarter when the Ravens were fourth-and-one at the Colts' three-yard line.
Bluntly put, it was a better performance than any yet to be turned in for the Colts by Landry, a high-priced free agent acquisition in 2013.
"He's a hard-worker, so we weren't surprised how he came in and played," said cornerback Vontae Davis, who contributed an interception to the cause. "I guess he wanted to show what he can do. He came out there and played fast. Play fast and play hard; that's what he did."
Brown's performance was fairly typical of a team defensive effort that was the Colts' best of the season, and made up for an afternoon of offensive miscues that included two lost fumbles and two interceptions. It had allowed 61 combined points in losses to Denver and Philadelphia at the start of the season, then 17 points each in wins over Jacksonville and Tennessee. Holding a team as good as Baltimore to 13 points, despite the loss of Landry, was a giant step forward.
Brown, who was making his first start for the Colts after coming off the bench the previous two seasons, was joined in a breakthrough moment by second-year outside linebacker Bjoern Werner. The first-round draft pick from 2013 has been regarded as a disappointment to this point, managing just 2 sacks last season and none over the first four games this season.
He had two against the Ravens, including a first-down stop of Flacco on the Ravens' final, futile drive, which backed them up to their own 3-yard line.
Werner celebrated his sacks with the same leg kick that has become the trademark of linebacker Robert Mathis, who is out for the season with a torn Achilles.
"I wanted to do that way earlier. It was definitely a tribute to Robert Mathis," Werner said.
Veteran end Cory Redding did the same, then offered Mathis-like bravado in the locker room, too.
"We just wanted to be the better defense on the field today," he said. "We know the tradition of the Baltimore Ravens defense and we were not going to allow anybody to come in here today and try to [move] us around and throw whatever they have on us."
Time will tell on that, but Sunday's game at least offered encouragement -- most of all for Werner and Brown, who turned in the best performances of their careers at a necessary time.
How long had Brown waited for such a moment?
"My whole life," he said. "My whole life. And I was ready. I love it."
