Flacco one completion shy of an NFL record
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco couldn’t help but have some fun with Mike Wallace. After learning that Wallace’s third-quarter drop in the end zone had prevented him from an NFL record-tying 22 straight completions in a single game, Flacco approached the wide receiver in the locker room and informed him what he had done.
The two shook hands as several other Ravens offensive players, who witnessed the exchange, chuckled nearby. After beating the Jacksonville Jaguars, 19-17, on Sunday and improving to 3-0, it was easy for Flacco to make light of the situation.
“You’re going with the flow and you don’t even realize it,” Flacco said. “You’re just making plays. This is a defense where you check the ball down a little bit, so there are some easy completions to find. We were probably not getting a ton of yards on them.”
Flacco broke his own team record of 14 consecutive completions in a game against the Denver Broncos in 2009. The NFLrecord for consecutive completions in a game is 22, held by the Washington Redskins’ Mark Brunell (2006 against the Houston Texans) and the Texans’ David Carr (2006 against the Buffalo Bills).
The Philadelphia Eagles’ Donovan McNabb completed 24 consecutive passes in 2004, but that run spanned two games.
Flacco got into a groove and approached those marks.
“He’s capable of that,” Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta said of Flacco. “He’s an accurate passer, decisive and knows what to do with the ball. Twenty-something completions in a row doesn’t really surprise us.”
The streak started with a 12-yard completion to Wallace at the 6:52 mark of the first quarter. Unfortunately, Wallace’s drop was one of the prettiest passes Flacco threw all day, but the speedy wideout couldn’t haul it in.
Flacco finished the game 29 of40 for 215 yards, no touchdown passes and two interceptions. Smith Sr. and Ramsey spar: Ravens veteran wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. and Jaguars rookie cornerback Jalen Ramsey got into a scuffle, and received matching unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties in the aftermath of Paul Posluszny’s interception of Flacco late in the fourth quarter.
There was no further incidents between the two, but Ramsey was apparently still peeved after the game, whenhesaid he didn’t respect Smith and called the 37-year-old an old man. Ramsey is 21.
“Y’all tell me who got in whose head,” Ramsey said. “He came up to me after the game, you feel me? Y’all tell me who got in . Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco runs for a first-quarter touchdown. He finished with 21 straight pass completions, one short of tying the NFL single-game record. whose head. He’s an old man acting like that. Ain’t nobody worried about him. Hecame up to me, you know what I’m saying, on some disrespectful stuff. The game’s over with. You still mad ’cause I was locking you up? All right, go sleep on that.”
Smith wasn’t asked about Ramsey after the game, but he had plenty to say on social media when he learned of Ramsey’s postgame comments.
“I gave U every opportunity to speak face to face but you found your voice safely behind closed doors,” Smith wrote on Twitter. “Young man I don’t need ur respect!”
Smith also wrote, “I got cleats with stronger thread than you.”
Smith finished with eight catches for 87 yards. Ramsey, whom the Ravens coveted in this year’s draft, hadfive tackles anddeflected a pass that led to an interception by Tashaun Gipson. Stanley struggles: The Ravens know that rookie left tackle Ronnie Stanley is hardly a finished product, and he’ll have some games like Sunday, when he was called for two penalties and beaten for a sack by former Maryland standout Yannick Ngakoue.
Stanley has impressed Ravens officials, but he struggled with the speed of the Jaguars’ edge rushers.
“They were just fast. They fly around to the ball, they really use speed to their advantage,” Stanley said. “They knew we were going to have to throw the ball there so they were able to pin their ears back and took off on a lot of plays where they wouldn’t know if it was run or pass on a normal situation.”
Stanley, the sixth overall draft pick, said he was looking forward to watching tape and making corrections.
“There are definitely things I can work on, but we’re going to enjoy this win,” he said. “I know when I got back to work on Tuesday, there’s going to be things that I need to work on, like alot of guys. Butthat’s just that. It’s just knowing you got to work on things and being mature enough to work on them.” End zone: Starting left guard Alex Lewis left the game with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by Ryan Jensen. ... Coach John Harbaugh has 80 regular-season wins, tying him with Brian Billick for the most in franchise history. …The Ravens had three interceptions, giving them five for the season. Theyhadsix all of last year. ……… After saying during the week that he was hopeful he’d be able to make his 2016 debut against the Jaguars, Ravens strong-side linebacker Elvis Dumervil was again inactive as he continues to recover from offseason foot surgery. The Ravens had the same seven inactive players for the third straight week as running backs Kenneth Dixon (knee) and Buck Allen, offensive lineman John Urschel, defensive tackle Willie Henry and cornerbacks Jerraud Powers and Will Davis were all kept out. …A few of the Jaguars, including linebacker Tevin Smith and defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. held their fists up during the national anthem. Nobody on the Ravens’ sideline engaged in any form of protest.