NFL Baltimore Ravens

Joe Flacco’s Playoff Numbers Suggest An Upset Could Be Brewing Against New England Patriots

Fresh Videos

By

Geoff Burke - USA TODAY Sports

Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports

The question of whether Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is “elite” or not may never be thoroughly determined, however, one thing is hard to argue: the guy is clutch come playoff time. From a strictly numbers standpoint, Flacco is arguably one of the best playoff quarterbacks of the last five to six years. But is it luck? Is Flacco’s success a fluke? Or will his abilities put Baltimore in a position where they could upset the New England Patriots and reach this year’s AFC Championship? Time will tell, but a quick look at Flacco’s playoff résumé is worth looking at.

Flacco has played in 14 playoff games in his career and lost just four. He has lead the Ravens to a current league-high five-game playoff win streak, which spans back to 2013 when the team captured the Super Bowl, and during the stretch Flacco has thrown 13 touchdowns and not a single interception. His overall playoff TD/interception ratio is 21/8 and his win percentage (.714) is the second-best in the NFL for quarterbacks with more than 10 playoffs games, trailing just Peyton Manning (.727.) The Ravens will be on the road this weekend and it’s worth noting that Flacco has the most road playoff wins in NFL history with seven. Lastly, of course, he has a Super Bowl ring, which is perhaps the most important stat of all.

I understand that nearly no one outside of Baltimore would claim that Flacco is the best playoff quarterback in the NFL right now, and I’m not even necessarily arguing that. What I am arguing is that he belongs in the conversation, and that he has somehow flown under the radar despite having some very convincing playoff performances and numbers throughout the years.

Say we were to list the stats of the top-five playoff quarterbacks in the league right now, but didn’t attach any names to the stats. If that was the case, the prejudice that tends to automatically overlook Flacco would be eliminated and his numbers would stand up well next to any other quarterback in the league. Again, I’m not necessarily campaigning him as the best, I just think it should be more well-known that he belongs in the conversation.

Of course, a playoff win and playoff success comes down to more than just a quarterback. If the Ravens are to pull off the huge upset against the Patriots, it won’t only be because of Flacco, much like if they lose the blame shouldn’t fall squarely on him. However, if there were a quarterback in this league capable of pulling off such a miracle, Flacco could very well be the guy.

Share Tweet
Trending Now on