The Baltimore Ravens fell to the Los Angeles Chargers by a score of 23-17 in their AFC Wild Card Round matchup on Saturday afternoon, but the score did not tell the story.
Although the Ravens scored a couple of late touchdowns to make the game interesting, their offense was largely anemic throughout the entire day, with Baltimore struggling to get a first down most of the way.
Many were calling for Joe Flacco to replace Lamar Jackson, as Jackson looked lost for the first half and for much of the second half, but the substitution never came, an obvious sign that Flacco's time in Baltimore was coming to an end.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh acknowledged as much after the game:
https://twitter.com/jamisonhensley/status/1082030856615743489
Flacco will certainly have some teams calling in free agency. The Jacksonville Jaguars immediately come to mind as a club that has the pieces in place to win now but lacks the quarterback.
The 33-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Delaware, was originally selected by the Ravens in the first round (18th pick overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Up until suffering a hip injury last November that led to Jackson usurping him, Flacco had been Baltimore's starting signal-caller ever since.
While he never put up great numbers during the regular season, Flacco is known for stepping it up in the playoffs, particularly during the 2012-13 campaign when he led the Ravens to a Super Bowl title, throwing 11 touchdowns without an interception along the way.
However, Flacco has clearly not been the same over the last several years, throwing for 20 touchdowns just once in the last four seasons.
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