Tracking the Ravens offense in 2011: Flacco Shines as Offense Converts on Critical Drive

By: Scot Kleinfeld: Game 11 – November 29, 2011

Sometimes you only need one good drive when your defense is playing lights out football. Against the 49ers that drive started at the Ravens 24 yard line with 7:30 left in the third quarter and ended with Joe Flacco throwing a dart to TE Dennis Pitta for an 8-yard touchdown pass.

In a game that saw the offense go one of four in the Red Zone, the drive producing the touchdown was a thing of beauty that featured four third-down conversions to three different receivers.  Joe Flacco finished with a 100.1 rating while going 15 of 23 for 161 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT.  If there was a BTN game ball it would go to the offensive line that more than held its own against one of the league’s better defenses and did not allow a single sack.

Now the question facing the offense is whether they can deliver on the road against an inferior opponent. The remaining three road games are against teams with a combined 12-21 record. Every game is critical as all are against AFC teams and will weigh in the playoff seeding. It’s reasonable to expect the Ravens to win out and finish the year at 13-3, but we all know looking into the future more than a week in the NFL universe can lead you into a black hole of uncertainty.