Joe Flacco vs The Patriots

One of most discussed topics in the week leading up to the conferences championship games is how well Joe Flacco will play in the AFC Championship game.

Flacco has often been discounted, if not maligned for not being the dynamic passing threat that most top quarterbacks are. All in spite of the fact that Flacco has made and won playoff games every single year since being drafted. However, the last time the Ravens and the Patriots met in the playoffs, the Ravens trounced them. His less than stellar performance during that game has also been beat into the dirt.

However, far less discussed is how well he has played in other games against the Patriots. To say that a single playoff game is indicative of his ability to pick apart the Patriots defense is ridiculous. Flacco has played against the Patriots three times in his career, including the playoff game and honestly has had more success than failures against them, in spite of winning only one of those three games.

With that in mind, let’s examine the other two games Joe Flacco played against the Patriots and see how well he did this those games.

The first came in the 2009 season, in week 4, at Gillette Stadium. Still relatively early in Flacco’s career, He played decently, though no spectacularly, at least by the numbers. He threw two touchdowns and a pick, completing 57% of his passes for 264 yards. The Ravens traded blows with the Patriots all through the game, staying within ten points all game. In the end, down by six points, the Ravens were driving in the fourth quarter when a dropped pass by Mark Clayton on 4^th and 3 ended the game. Flacco played well, though threw the ball a bit more than the Ravens really needed him to.

The Ravens played the Patriots again that post-season, the game I mentioned previously, again at Gillette. Flacco only threw the ball 10 times, hitting only four of those passes for 34 yards and a pick. It hardly mattered since the Ravens were able to ram the ball right down the Patriots throat. If the Ravens can do it again this weekend, then it should be enough to win,

The next time the Ravens would face the Patriots, again in Gillette, Flacco would play his best game against them. He threw for 285 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions with a 77% completion percentage. The Ravens held the advantage for the majority of the game, outplaying the Patriots defense until the last quarter of the game. Then Tom Brady did what Tom Brady does. They ultimately lost by a field go with a little over a minute to go in over time. Flacco still was a driving force in the game and showed that the Ravens skill position players could match up well against the Patriots defenders.

None of this tells us whether or not the Ravens are going to win on Sunday. However it does give us a better perspective on how well Joe Flacco has prepared for this situation in the past. Certainly things have changed since they last played. Flacco has lost two of his favorite targets in Derrick Mason and Todd Heap and Brady has discovered two new weapons in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. But I think Sunday will show that Flacco is ready to push the Ravens back to a championship level, whether they win or lose.