While every member of the Cincinnati Bengals traveling party walked out of Pittsburgh disappointed Saturday night, left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. might have been the least concerned with the 34-11 loss.
He had bigger things on his mind.
Like life.
The game had just ended minutes earlier, and Brown was on his phone in the Acrisure Stadium visitors’ locker room, watching via FaceTime as his fiancée, Holly Luyah, gave birth to their second son, Sonny, two weeks early.
Holly’s water broke early in the morning Saturday with Brown already in Pittsburgh.
“I’m thankful she understands, and my family understands,” Brown told the team’s website. “For me, football is kind of everything right now. You don’t really get this opportunity back. You don’t get the opportunity to see a birth, either. For me, it was important to be there with the guys in Pittsburgh and to be out there with them.”
No Animosity as Bengals LT Orlando Brown Jr. Returns to KC
Ironically enough, the next time Brown is out there with his teammates, he once again will be feeling drastically different emotions as he makes his return to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday with the Bengals clinging to playoff hope.
Brown spent the previous two seasons with the Chiefs, losing to the Bengals in the 2021 AFC Championship Game before beating them last year on the way to winning Super Bowl LVII. And he’s not about to pretend like this is just another game.
“Obviously that was the organization that gave me an opportunity to be a left tackle in this league and helped put me in position to be here,” Brown said. “So there’s no animosity.”
“Just what’s at stake in terms of playoff contention and how important this game is for us as a team, that’s really what’s at the front of my mind,” he added.
Brown began his career as a third-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2018, but he had to play right tackle with the All-Pro, well-paid Ronnie Stanley at left tackle. Baltimore ended up trading Brown to Kansas City for four draft picks.
The Chiefs didn’t show interest in re-signing Brown this spring, and the Bengals pounced with a four-year, $64.1 million contract.
MORE: Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart
And just as was the case in 2021, when the schedule sent Brown and the Chiefs into his former home in Baltimore, it’s happening again in 2023 with his return to Kansas City.
But that was a Week 2 game in 2021. This is Week 17, with both teams clawing for playoff spots.
“This is going to be a playoff-like atmosphere,” Brown said. “So it doesn’t matter who we play this time of year. I’m excited. I would say that, honestly, if we were going to Seattle or San Francisco. It’s the time of year. That’s what makes these Bengals-Chiefs games so exciting because of what’s at stake.”
Brown has never missed the playoffs or won fewer than 10 games in his career. The Ravens won the AFC North in his first two seasons there, then earned a Wild Card berth in 2020. And the Chiefs won the AFC West in his two seasons in Kansas City.
“I’m spoiled in the football world, man,” Brown said. “From all the wins and championships and personal accolades, I’m spoiled.”
And spoiled in life, too, with a new, healthy baby for Christmas.
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