Formula creates offensive conflict
Flacco says current style of winning games might not sustain push to postseason
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco seemed genuinely conflicted, both as he spoke to reporters after the victory over the Houston Texans on Monday night and again shortly after as he sat quietly in a mostly empty M&T Bank Stadium locker room early Tuesday morning and flipped through messages on his cellphone.
The Ravens had just beaten the Texans, 23-16, leapfrogging the Buffalo Bills into the AFC’s second wild-card spot. For a quarterback who has always believed he should be defined by wins and losses, the team’s third victory in the past four games was reason enough to celebrate.
However, the way in which the latest win came and the formula the Ravens (6-5) have relied on to get back into playoff contention hasn’t been lost on Flacco. The Ravens are winning mostly with their defense creating turnovers and keeping the opposition out of the end zone and with the offense avoiding key mistakes and setting up ace kicker Justin Tucker for field goals.
Ravens fans aren’t the only ones questioning whether the formula is sustainable for a playoff run through December and January, when the competition gets much tougher.
“In order for us to take the next step for real, we’re going to have to let it loose a little bit and see where it takes us,” Flacco said. “I’ve been in this league long enough to know, if you don’t win the Super Bowl, it doesn’t mean anything. If we believe we can win the Super Bowl with how we’re playing right now, I’m all for it. I really am. We can all take a look at that and say it’s probably not super-realistic. We need to go out there, and we need to go get it, and we need to be better on our side of the ball.”
Ravens coach John Harbaugh called Flacco’s take “spot on” and praised his longtime quarterback for playing courageously against the Texans.
“That’s something that we talk about every day. That’s something that we’re fighting to do,” Harbaugh said. “The first step is getting our guys back. We continue to work throughout the season. We have to keep grinding, get a little bit better every Sunday, 1 p.m. TV: Ch. 45 Radio: 97.9 FM, 1090 AM Line: Ravens by 3