Subscribe Now

Text size:

Ravens 17, Bengals 10

Flacco off and running in debut

Rookie QB wins fans' affection and praise from teammates with hard-nosed play; Ravens 'D' shuts down Cincinnati

By Jamison Hensley | jamison.hensley@baltsun.com

September 8, 2008

Ravens rookie quarterback Joe Flacco runs downfield, being chased by the Cincinnati Bengals' Keith Rivers, on the way to a 38-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Flacco was 15-for-29 for 129 yards with no interceptions. (Baltimore Sun photo by Doug Kapustin / September 7, 2008)

The Joe Flacco era commenced yesterday with little fanfare from the strong arm that made him the Ravens' franchise quarterback.

Instead, Flacco's initiation into the NFL was defined by his legs, his wits and his grit.

Running 38 yards into the end zone off an audible and providing the key block on the Ravens' other touchdown, Flacco placed his hard-nosed stamp on the Ravens' season-opening 17-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

In a town where a blue-collar defense has dominated the football landscape for the past decade, Flacco supplied a workmanlike performance of his own, one that was warmly embraced by the sellout crowd of 70,978.

In the first half, fans waved purple placards that read, "Wacko 4 Flacco." In the second half, the crowd chanted, "Let's go Flacco," something none of the previous 15 starting quarterbacks in Ravens history had ever inspired.

"I kind of thought I heard it, but I wasn't really sure. I thought, 'Why would they be doing that?'" Flacco said with a laugh. "Hey, if I can keep them on my side like that, it will be a good time."

The 18th overall pick in this year's draft, Flacco was thrust into the starting role because medical issues sidelined the team's top two quarterbacks, Troy Smith (tonsil infection) and Kyle Boller (season-ending shoulder injury).

Not surprisingly, he finished with a less-than-stellar stat line: 15-for-29 passing for 129 yards and a 63.7quarterback rating. But the key was he didn't turn the ball over and turned up the intensity when it was required.

With the Ravens holding a 10-3 lead late in the third quarter, Flacco delivered a significant blow by scrambling 38 yards for a touchdown, his longest run in a game since high school.

The memorable dash began with modest expectations.

"I started running, and I was thinking, 'first down, first down, first down,'" Flacco said of the run that came on first-and-10. "I got to the first-down point, and I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, I don't think there's anybody there.' I just started going upfield, and I just thought, 'I'm going to get in the end zone here.'"

The play started with a fake handoff and a rollout to the right by Flacco, who received some help from a couple of teammates.

Center Jason Brown hustled nearly 20 yards downfield to take out one defender, and wide receiver Mark Clayton blocked a cornerback inside the 5-yard line.

That created a clear path for Flacco, who dived into the end zone for his first career touchdown.

"The whole time I was thinking, 'Please, if somebody's about to run and hit you, just slide,'" Brown said. "But the kid has so much heart. I knew that he wasn't going to do that. He had his eyes dead set on the end zone. He was going to get in there no matter what."

The touchdown was more impressive because it wasn't planned that way.

"I thought he was supposed to hand it off to somebody," Brown said.

But Flacco noticed the intended run play wouldn't work because the Bengals were blitzing up the middle. So, rather than handing the ball off to his running back, Flacco called an audible that kept the ball in his hands.

"It was really more of a mental play than it was a physical one," coach John Harbaugh said.

Flacco's physical play had occurred earlier in the game after a rough start.

E-mail

Single page

Reprint

Get home delivery of The Sun and save over 50% off the newsstand price

Flacco off and running in debut

Rookie QB wins fans' affection and praise from teammates with hard-nosed play; Ravens 'D' shuts down Cincinnati

Ravens questions? Just ask.

Going deep

Online resources

Going deep

Online resources

Going deep

Going deep Archived Sun football coverage
	> John Unitas > John Mackey > Lenny Moore > Jim Parker > Raymond Berry > Gino Marchetti > More archived coverage > Going deep: Other sports

Going deep Sun sports special reports and in-depth coverage
	> 1983 O's > Football: The tie that binds > Orioles > Baltimore Colts > Going deep: Other sports

Flacco off and running in debut

Rookie QB wins fans' affection and praise from teammates with hard-nosed play; Ravens 'D' shuts down Cincinnati

Related links

Quarter by quarter

Ravens questions? Just ask. Each week, Baltimore Sun reporter Jamison Hensley will answer fans' questions about the Ravens. To submit a question, e-mail sports@baltsun.com. Please provide your name and phone number so we can verify the e-mail.

Ravens questions? Just ask.

Related topic galleries: Dhani Jones, Injuries, National Football League, Derrick Mason, Cincinnati Bengals

Popular stories: Sports

Poll: Ravens vs. Eagles

Going deep

Online resources

Going deep

Online resources

Going deep

Ravens questions? Just ask.
Each week, Baltimore Sun reporter Jamison Hensley will answer fans' questions about the Ravens. To submit a question, e-mail sports@baltsun.com. Please provide your name and phone number so we can verify the e-mail.