Joe Flacco didn’t play in the Hall of Fame Game last Thursday night, so this Thursday’s visit from the Rams served as his first appearance of the preseason.
Flacco was in the game for just one possession and his short appearance did little to dispute word of a renewed fire to his game.
Flacco completed 5-of-7 passes for 71 yards, including a 30-yarder to Michael Crabtree and a 17-yarder to John Brown. He capped the drive with a six-yard touchdown to fullback Patrick Ricard. He also picked up four yards on a bootleg, which may be an example of what offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg meant when he said the quarterback is “moving and grooving” this summer.
The caveat to the performance is that all of it came against a Rams defense playing without all but one of its starters, but Flacco looked as sharp as anyone from the Ravens could have hoped in his first game action of the year.