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Since the Ravens' Week 2 loss to the Bengals, in which Joe Flacco threw four interceptions, the Baltimore signal caller has been on an absolute tear.
How hot has Joe Cool been?
Well, in his last six games, (five of which have been wins), Flacco has thrown for over 1,500 yards, and has tossed 11 touchdowns to just one interception.
Yeah, that'll do.
Flacco's recent dominance continued today, as he went an impressive 20-for-27 for 266 yards and two touchdowns. It wasn't a gunslinging type of performance which you'll see all over highlight reels, but the Ravens' third-year quarterback was effective, and took what the Dolphins' defense gave him.
"Joe was very patient in the pocket," head coach John Harbaugh said. "It may have led to a sack or two, but you know what? Sometimes we can live with that. Because I thought Joe did a good job of keeping his poise, keeping his eyes downfield, looking to make plays.
"That gave us an opportunity to get the ball to the backs and let Ray [Rice] run with the ball after the catch. So, I think his patience in there set that up a little bit."
Rice was Flacco's go-to guy today, making seven catches for 97 yards. The Ravens' two top draft picks in the 2008 class were clicking all day today, and Rice had some glowing things to say about his quarterback after the game.
"He's amazing," Rice said. "There's a reason they brought the guy in as a first-rounder. Quarterback is the toughest position to play on the field by far. I can't even tell you how much the guy has to read, how much he has to know... For him to do what he's doing at this point in his career, it just shows how long the guy is going to play the game.
"He's athletic, smart, strong, and he's able to take a hit. He took one today and got right up. I love playing with him. That's my guy."
Flacco posted a 129.6 passer rating on the day, which falls just short of his career high of 135.6 and gives him a 100-plus rating in three consecutive games for the first time in his career.
He has tossed at least two touchdown passes in three straight games, also a first in his career.
The impressive stats just keep on coming.
"Joe expects this," Harbaugh said. "Our expectations are not to be okay. Our expectations are to be dominant."
There are still holes in the Baltimore offense, and Flacco is far from "dominant" at this point, but he's playing steady, smart football, and the Ravens' win total is continuing to rise as a result.
