The Baltimore Ravens have been to the playoffs for 4 straight years with Joe Flacco as our quarterback. Each of those four years has ended with a heartbreaking loss in the playoffs. Including yesterday’s 23 to 20 loss, the Ravens have loss in the AFC Championship game twice in the last four years. I’m not sure which playoff loss hurts the most. I don’t know if it was last year’s collapse to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2nd half or this loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship.
I do know that I am proud of my team. Many people didn’t give the Baltimore Ravens a chance against the Patriots and their powerful offense run by Tom Brady. They did not believe that the Ravens defense could stop Tom Brady from throwing any touchdown passes but they did. Nobody thought that Joe Flacco could out play Tom Brady statistically in this game but he did. Flacco had a 95.4 QB rating while Tom Brady had a low 57.5 QB rating. I mean who thought we would sweep the AFC North Division at the beginning of the season? Who knew that the Ravens would go undefeated at home for the first time in franchise?
In short, this loss was heartbreaking to say the least but there are several things to be proud of this season if you are a Ravens fan.
Ed Reed Comments on Joe Flacco
The story of the day is about Ed Reed’s comments that he made on SiriusXM NFL Radio about Joe Flacco. Personally, I think the media took Ed Reed’s comments and blew them out of proportion. I’ve listened to fans call in to radio talk shows upset by the comments. Some of these same fans acting upset probably have made more harsh criticisms of Joe Flacco in the past. Yeah, the timing of these comments may have been bad but it is what it is. Joe Flacco has very tough skin so maybe he’ll use this as motivation to have a great game against the Patriots. Like I said in a previous article, all Joe Flacco has to do is win a Superbowl and he’ll silence the critics.
I personally had no problem with the way Joe Flacco played against the Houston Texans. He threw 2 touchdown passes against a top rated defense and had no interceptions. If anything, I was embarrassed by the fact we couldn’t convert in short yardage situations. The offensive line was horrible. They gave up 5 sacks. Joe Flacco is probably the most durable quarterback in the NFL and it is a wonder that he never gets hurt. He is the best quarterback that the Ravens have had even though that isn’t saying much considering who we’ve had.
Here is a clip of ESPN analysts discussing Ed Reed’s comments: