Joe Flacco, Ravens Offense Lack Flash, but Effective in Thursday Night Win

When two AFC North teams face off, we don't usually expect this sort of thing. 

The Baltimore Ravens beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 26-6, on the first Thursday Night Football of the CBS era. It was the 40th time these two teams have met, and it was almost completely unlike any other Ravens-Steelers matchup we've seen in recent history. 

It wasn't just that the Ravens were dominant. It's that the Ravens offense did a lot more heavy lifting than anyone truly expected. 

Quarterback Joe Flacco only threw for 166 yards, but he completed 21-of-29 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions. One gets the idea that he could have done much more if the game had called for it, as could have wide receiver Steve Smith (six catches, 71 yards) and tight end Dennis Pitta (three catches, 30 yards). 

It's worth asking, at least, if some of this was just a one-game mirage thanks to the same Pittsburgh Steelers defense that had trouble with quarterback Brian Hoyer and the Cleveland Browns last week. Still, we've seen the offense of new offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak look this exciting, at times, in the preseason and it's got the hallmarks of what we expect from Kubiak's scheme. 

Could it be that even if the Ravens offense isn't going to light the world on fire this season, it might be enough to win a bunch of football games?

Rice-less Running Game All About a Dominant Offensive Line

We've gotten six paragraphs into a Ravens article without mentioning recently released superstar running back Ray Rice! Hooray! 

Irony aside, there are pretty big on-the-field implications for the Ravens in a post-Rice reality. Kubiak was brought over, in part, to install a zone-blocking scheme that was awfully fantastic (now hypothetically) for Rice as he winds down his career and careens toward that infamous 30-year-old wall. 

With Rice gone, though, this looks like a situation in which Flacco and a passing game that has never stood up to tests like this will be relied upon more than ever. 

Not so fast my friends...

The thing with the zone-blocking scheme, at its core, is that it's about the linemen and not necessarily the running back. Think about coaches like Mike Shanahan and his son, Cleveland offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. They've been notoriously bad for fantasy football owners, as they simply don't care which running back gets the yardage. 

That's also the same coaching tree that Kubiak sprouts from. 

We can weep into our pit beef at the thought of backs like Bernard Pierce or Justin Forsett shouldering the load for the Ravens all season long. Better, though—and not just optimistic, but also more realistic—is to focus on the strength of the offensive line. 

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Offensive guard Kelechi Osemele has played like a man possessed this season, while center Jeremy Zuttah hasn't been that far off. Right tackle Ricky Wagner has been a revelation and may be one of the best linemen no one is talking about right now. 

When those guys are on their game, you or I could have a productive day rushing the football. 

Put me in, coach!

The real benefit, however, is not just the constant grind of the zone-blocking scheme that allows any marginal back to get some yardage, but it's also the toll it takes on a defense. That was seen firsthand against the Steelers when Forsett burst through the line for a 41-yard gain in the fourth quarter. 

Forsett didn't do anything overly special on that run; the defensive front of the Steelers was just broken after a game of being put back on their heels almost constantly. It wears the opposition down and makes life a lot easier for the back. 

This is what the Ravens running game can look like without Rice. 

It's not half-bad. 

Passing Game Leaning on Old Standbys

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

In today's NFL, one still has to pass the ball, though, and the Ravens are set up to do just that. 

Again, Flacco did not have a fantastic game in Week 2—let's not overstate his case too much. Nevertheless, it wasn't a bad day, and it was the exact kind of day that Kubiak's offense is set up to create. 

We think of "running to set up the pass" as play-action and nothing more. Yes, Kubiak's scheme will feature tons of play-action, but it doesn't stop there. The man-on-man (zone) blocking creates some headaches for defenses as they try to figure out what tight ends are doing. 

Is he firing off the line to hit me, or is he running a route?

Do I turn to run with him, or am I engaging and shedding him as a blocker?

This is a reason why tight ends have been so effective for this coaching tree. The Denver Broncos had Shannon Sharpe. The Houston Texans (and now the Ravens) had Owen Daniels. The Ravens have Dennis Pitta. 

On Thursday night, Baltimore tight ends accounted for 58 of the team's 166 passing yards (35 percent) and both passing touchdowns. The touchdowns weren't even difficult passes for Flacco to make, as the defense bailed out, leaving Daniels standing around waiting for someone to at least remember he's there. 

These are bread-and-butter plays for this offense, and the Ravens have the incredible ability to succeed with them time and again—all season long. 

The big story, though, is the continued solid play of wide receiver Steve Smith. "Solid" of course is probably putting it mildly, as he's been the bedrock of the Ravens receiving corps and was fourth in the league in receiving after Week 1. 

On Thursday, Smith ate Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen's lunch. It isn't that Smith is better—Allen is younger, a better athlete and likely has a very bright future in the league. It's that Smith has a level of veteran savvy Allen couldn't be ready for and a physicality that belies his age. 

Smith finished the night with six receptions for 71 yards. 

The absence of Rice and the pressure on Flacco are topics that are going to be a constant theme. Focusing on them, though, is silly when the Ravens offense is designed to do exactly what it needs to do in order to win football games. 

Michael Schottey is an NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff on his archive page and follow him on Twitter.