The good news is he can laugh about it now.
But Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco knows running back Ray Rice bailed him out by taking a check-down pass and converting an improbable fourth-and-29 in last week’s comeback win against the Chargers.
“We got away with one and I’ll be glad. I could have looked like a big-time idiot if we don’t get that play,” Flacco said, via By Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun. “I kind of went out on a limb there to check the ball down on fourth-and-29. We don’t get that, everybody is crushing me: ‘What the hell is he doing checking the ball down on fourth-and-29?’
“I don’t think that will ever happen again in the time that I play and it gets converted, especially on a check-down like that. I am just happy it happened.”
So is Rice, who said it compares with an 83-yard touchdown run against the Patriots in the playoffs in terms of his favorite plays.
“It was actually remarkable to see our defense,” Rice said. “This is the funniest thing: When I got back on the plane, the defense said when Joe checked it down, the defense was like, ‘What the heck are we doing?’ Next thing you see is the whole sideline going, ‘Go! Go! Go!’ I had my best friend’s mom tell me she turned off the game and said, ‘Oh, “Walking Dead” is on, and then came to find out we won the game.
“It was one of those moments where you realize you did something special and now it’s something I can live with.”
And so can Flacco, since it worked.