Ravens news: John Harbaugh ‘hopeful’ Joe Flacco plays in Week 9
The Baltimore Ravens dealt the Miami Dolphins a big blow last Thursday in the form of a 40-0 win, but not before their star quarterback Joe Flacco had absorbed a scary blow himself.
During the second quarter of that contest, Flacco was hit on the head while completing a slide by Miami linebacker Kiko Alonso.
Flacco took some time before getting up and looked wobbly as he was being escorted to the locker room. Before his premature exit, Flacco was having his best performance of the year, going 10-of-15 for 101 passing yards and a touchdown.
Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh, however, is hoping that his Super Bowl-winning quarterback will be ready for action when the Ravens take on the Tennessee Titans in Week 9, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.
“We’re very hopeful for this week, and it will be in the hands of Joe and the doctors to decide what we can do,” John Harbaugh said. “We’ll get him ready to play if he can play. That’s all you can really do.”
Should Flacco fail to complete the steps needed to get out of the concussion protocol in time for Sunday’s road matchup with the Titans, the Ravens will have to rely on backup Ryan Mallett to orchestrate the team’s passing attack.
There should also be an amplified need for the rushing attack to shoulder bigger responsibilities, especially after the way Alex Collins broke out of his shell in Week 8.
Mallett stepped in for Flacco against Miami and threw for 20 yards and a touchdown on 2-of-7 attempts, while Collins became the first Ravens running back to record 100 rushing yards in a game this season, torching the Dolphins’ defense for 113 yards on the ground on 18 carries.
