Baltimore vs. Jacksonville
Ravens Roll Over Jaguars in Third Preseason Game in Encouraging Sign for 2012 Season
NFL coaches will tell you that the third preseason game is the one that’s the closest to what you can expect in the regular season. It takes two games for the starters to play more than a few series in a game, and the fourth preseason contest is primarily to determine the final roster spots.
So by using the third preseason game as the measuring stick, the Baltimore Ravens could be poised for an impressive 2012 season after last year ended in heartbreaking fashion.
Joe Flacco played into the third quarter and the first-team defense was excellent in a 48-17 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars at M&T Bank Stadium on Thursday night.
"Joe put up some good numbers there for three quarters, and the red-zone defense was really good," coach John Harbaugh said. "We finished things. That's the one thing we've been striving for. We finished catches. We finished runs. We finished drives for the most part."
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Flacco was 27 of 36 for 266 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception before he gave way to Tyrod Taylor and then Curtis Painter. Taylor threw for two scores and ran for another, while Painter also added a TD toss.
"We felt good, and we had a good rhythm going," Flacco said. "There was still one drive there where we would have liked to finish off with a touchdown rather than a field goal. Overall, though, it was a pretty good night."
Even though he didn’t catch a touchdown pass, Torrey Smith had a huge night: eight catches for 103 years, which both led the team. Anquan Boldin, Vonta Leach, Bobby Rainey, Tommy Streeter, and LaQuan Williams all caught touchdown passes in the blowout victory.
Damien Berry led the team with 40 rushing yards on seven carries. Ray Rice ran the ball twice for 30 yards off a 28-yard carry. Bernard Pierce also ran the ball 10 times for 35 yards.
It all led to a franchise preseason record of 48 points on 571 yards of offense, which humbled the Jaguars.
"Maybe that is what we needed, to have that bad a feeling, even in a preseason game," coach Mike Mularkey said. "This is why we play exhibition games. This will be a true test of this team to see how we bounce back from this. I am anxious to see how this team responds after getting pounded like we did. In all three phases, we didn't do the things we needed to do."
The Ravens defense kept quarterback Blaine Gabbert in check, and the score was 20-3 when Flacco and most of the starters departed the contest in the third quarter. The defense felt like it was a good statement to make after they were disappointed in their first two efforts so far this summer against Atlanta and Detroit.
"The first two games didn't go the way we wanted, but we were just warming up," cornerback Lardarius Webb said. "We came into this game looking to handle our business."
The only downside from the game from Baltimore’s standpoint was what appeared to be a broken leg suffered by backup safety Emanuel Cook, who looks to be lost for the season. Another reserve safety, Sean Considine, suffered a concussion.
GAME RECAP
The game opened with a long Ravens drive that ended with a 33-yard field goal by rookie kicker Justin Tucker to open the scoring at 3-0. That drive frustrated Flacco, as he wanted to finish drives with touchdowns, and Baltimore did just that on their next possession. The long drive ended early in the second quarter with Flacco’s 5-yard pass to Boldin for the touchdown that made it 10-0.
Tucker added a 53-yard field goal midway through the second quarter, and Josh Scobee got the Jags on the board with a 25-yard field goal in the final moments of the half to make the score 13-3 at halftime.
Flacco and the starters opened the third quarter with another scoring drive before taking a seat for the night. Leach caught an 8-yard pass for a score to add to the lead at 20-3. Taylor kept the offense humming later in the quarter with another touchdown throw to Williams, increasing the advantage to 27-3 after three quarters.
Taylor ran for a score to open the fourth quarter and the teams’ backups traded two more scores in the final period to reach the final score of 48-17.
UP NEXT
The final preseason game of the year is next Thursday at the St. Louis Rams. We likely won’t see Flacco and the other starters on the field until the regular-season opener, which is Monday, Sept. 10 against Cincinnati at M&T Bank Stadium.