CLEVELAND -- Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco battled back issues throughout training camp ahead of the 2017 season, but now, with a full offseason to heal, the 11-year veteran has his team out to a 3-1 record and tied for first place in the AFC North Division.
In the first four games of the season, Flacco completed 110 of his 171 attempts (64.3 percent) for 1,252 yards and eight touchdowns against just two interceptions.
“I think that we are playing really confident football,” Flacco said in a conference call with the Cleveland media earlier in the week. “I think we have some new guys on this team that have created a real spark for us.
“I think our offensive line is playing really, really well right now. With the combination of those things, I think that we are a team that has a good amount of talent and has the ability to go into anywhere and have the capability of winning at any point.”
In his 11 seasons in Baltimore, Flacco has rewritten the Ravens’ record books and is the organization’s all-time leading passer in games played (158), attempts (5,462), completions (3,377), passing yards (37,032), touchdowns (208), interceptions (132) and quarterback rating (84.5).
Additionally, Flacco has engineered 26 game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime in his career.
“It is a team effort,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “I feel like the whole offense is just playing at a higher level. Joe is healthy. His guys around him are playing well -- protection and the receivers are playing well. It is just the first quarter. We are just beginning. There is a lot of water to roll under the bridge yet, and we have to continue to improve.”
Although the Ravens’ offense is having success this season, they will compete against the strength of the Browns, their defense.
The Browns rank first in the NFL in takeaways (13), fumble recoveries (six) and turnover ratio (plus-seven), tied for third with seven interceptions, tied for first with 34 negative plays, eighth in negative yards for tackles behind the line of scrimmage (minus 115) and third in tackles by the defensive line (68).
“The guys up front, you can just see how physical they are and the real type of talent that they are,” Flacco said.
Because of the play of the defense, the Ravens (3-1) know better than to underestimate the Browns (1-2-1) coming into Sunday’s AFC North Division game at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“They always play us really tough,” Flacco said. “I think that they are playing confident right now, too. They have guys on the back end that really know how to play, and they have guys up front that play hard. They have a lot of talent up there, also. They have a lot of talented guys that do not just do nothing with it. They play hard and they get after people.
“They make it tough for you. Just like always, especially going up there, I am anticipating a very tough test. You know that they are going to give you some multiple looks, a new look here and there every week. They are going to game plan for what we do on offense and have some things to stop us. It should be exciting.”
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