Never mind elite. Joe Flacco doesn’t think he’s very good at all right now.
The Ravens quarterback shouldered the blame for the team’s slow start on offense, which has them 3-4 going into their bye and ranked 25th in the league in points scored.
“I’m obviously not playing good enough,” Flacco said Wednesday after the team’s final practice of the bye week. “We’re not a good offense and it starts with the quarterback. I got to be better.”
Flacco ranks 29th in the league in passer rating at 75.4, with just five touchdowns against 6 interceptions. But specifically, he could be better late in games, as he’s had the ball late in each of the games during his team’s four-game losing streak.
But coach John Harbaugh was a bit easier on his quarterback than the quarterback was.
“Joe Flacco is the key to our success. So, we need to all do everything in our power that all the things are falling in place for him,” Harbaugh said. “He can play. He can throw it. He can make decisions. He can score touchdowns for us. He can do all the things we need to do. We need to make sure that we give him a chance to do that.”
Of course, getting healthy over the bye week would help, as they’ve missed key offensive linemen (Marshal Yanda and Ronnie Stanley) and their top wide receiver (Steve Smith) for portions of the season. They’re hoping they’ll all be ready when they return to work in a week.