QB Joe Flacco leads Baltimore Ravens to 44-13 win vs Cincinnati Bengals – NFL News
Quarterback Joe Flacco has proved that the Baltimore Ravens’ decision to strike a right balance at the offensive and defensive positions alike while shunning the traditional approach of focusing on the defence alone is worth potential of reaching Super Bowl
title game this season. Thanks to his superb performance the team with the convincing 44-13 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals made an impressive start to the 2012 season campaign on Monday night.
Joe threw for 299 yards in the total 430 yards amassed by the Ravens as safety Ed Reed had a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown to inflict a wide-margin defeat on their American Football Conference (AFC) North division rivals.
Flacco, who for the first time has worked with the reputed coach Jim Caldwell, said of his performance:
"That tempo really helped us out because those guys can really get to the passer and really create a lot of pressure. I think the fact that we were able to go up-tempo and kind of keep those guys on the field took its toll on them."
Caldwell, who is credited to have trained and groomed some of star quarterbacks including Peyton Manning, had spoken high of Flacco’s potential and the player has proved through his performance in the preseason and now in the season opener that he is a completely
transformed offence leader now.
As mentioned by the QB himself, Caldwell’s transformation of the team's offence to put more emphasis on the running game has helped the player step up his game. He had backed the new offensive scheme during his remarks in the offseason.
Bengals’ coach Marvin Lewis admitted they were taken by surprise by Flacco’s and other Ravens’ performance. He said:
"That certainly wasn't what we expected to have out there today. We got outplayed and we got outcoached."
The result of the game was nevertheless well in line with projections of a majority of pre-game analyses, but the victory margin was certainly far above an acceptable level for the Bengals.
It is significant to note that the Bengals displayed poor form during the entire game. They seemed to have hardly received any time from the opposition to settle down on the field or find rhythm. They were also nowhere closer to stage a comeback in the latter
half, which they often do.
This was ninth consecutive victory for the Ravens in the AFC North, which also makes them the only team in the division to start the season with a win, as their rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bengals and Cleveland Browns lost their starting games, respectively.
The Browns came closer to winning their game, but were unlucky to end up as losers with only a point’s difference.
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