Joe Flacco knows it is easy to point to his increasingly gaudy stats or the rainbows he is uncorking with ease as proof that he is truly back.
The Baltimore Ravens quarterback does not quite see it that way.
Sure, he feels great. Yet he believes the credit for his team’s hot start should go to the 10 guys on the field with him every play.
Photo: Charles LeClaire-USA Today
They are the ones doing the hard work. Flinging the ball all over the place as he did on Sunday in a 26-14 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers is the easy part.
“It’s not like today was the toughest Pittsburgh Steeler games I’ve ever played,” Flacco said. “I’ve played really, really tough football games against these guys and probably thrown for 150 [yards], but I take pride in some of those games because I battled really, really hard.”
The battle was easier this time around for Flacco thanks to a redesigned offense that focuses on creativity and diversity.
Flacco completed 28 passes to 11 different players while finishing with 363 yards passing and two scores as the Ravens (3-1) created some early separation between themselves and the Steelers (1-2-1).
“The way our guys battled up front today and the way our guys on the outside got open, it didn’t have to be one of those [typical Steelers] games,” he said. “I was able to stand back there with confidence and not too many guys around me, and that helps. I’m not throwing the ball any different, we’re a better offense.”
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh gave offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg an “A-plus” on game planning.
“We want to be creative, we want to keep people off balance, but yet be physical with what we are doing,” Harbaugh said.
Baltimore were able to do all three while ending a three-game losing streak to the Steelers, who find themselves tied with Cleveland for last place in the division a quarter of the way into the season.
“We don’t like where we are, but we accept it,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said. “We understand that this is our doing. We just got to keep working.”
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