Can Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens Catch Lightning in a Bottle Again in Playoffs?

The power went out, and suddenly the Baltimore Ravens were human again.

That's what it felt like in Super Bowl XLVII, when the Ravens were cruising against the San Francisco 49ers before a power outage seemingly derailed the momentum they had built throughout the playoffs.

Much of that postseason run was on the back of quarterback Joe Flacco, who channeled Joe Montana in a torrid postseason run culminating in a Super Bowl MVP. He was Luke Skywalker, suddenly imbued with the power to destroy NFL empires having harvested moisture and bulls-eyed womp rats for much of his existence before his abrupt rise to stardom.

Flacco threw for 1,140 yards and 11 touchdowns in four playoff games after the 2012 regular season. More importantly, he protected the ball—the Ravens had just four turnovers the entire postseason thanks to the fact he threw zero interceptions.

The ascension into the stratosphere where the elite reside—however fleeting—was timely in more than one way. Not only did the Ravens fly to a championship on the wings of his performance, but Flacco's wallet was also considerably fatter as a direct result.

Year	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Y/A	Rate	QBR
2012	317	531	59.7	3817	22	10	7.2	87.7	46.34
2014	344	555	62	3986	27	12	7.2	90.9	67.27

Considering everything Flacco had done up to that point in his career, it was a rather unexpected postseason performance. Baltimore's burly-browed quarterback had put up pedestrian numbers throughout his career, and he immediately reverted to form after his four-game supernova.

The Empire struck back.

Flacco's 2014 season was comparable to his 2012 campaign, his biggest improvement being the fact he took 16 fewer sacks. It doesn't seem like we can glean much from the season he had, at least not when it comes to predicting individual playoff success.

Perhaps having a better team around him will help. He has Steve Smith now, the 35-year-old wunderkind surely eager to be a part of a championship run. The running game is humming with Justin Forsett, of all people, leading the charge.

Sure, future Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed aren't around to spearhead the defense these days, but the team is performing better this season by many measures, despite several key losses due to injury.

2012	Year	2014
398 (10)	Points Scored (rank)	409 (8)
5,640 (16)	Total Yards (rank)	5,640 (12)
344 (12)	Points Allowed (rank)	302 (6)
5,615 (17)	Total Defense (rank)	5,391 (8)

This year's squad ranks better on both sides of the ball in scoring and yardage than the championship team of 2012, and it even sports the same record. Unlike two years ago when they won the division, however, 10-6 barely got them into the playoffs.

Like with many champions, it wasn't just great play that won them a championship. It took a little luck to even get to the Super Bowl.

The Ravens were going to lose to the Denver Broncos, after all. All Denver's defense had to do was preserve a touchdown in the final 1:09 with the Ravens—sans a timeout—needing 77 yards to tie the game.

Then Rahim Moore happened.

Denver's now-infamous safety misjudged a deep ball to receiver Jacoby Jones, who wound up scoring the game-tying touchdown on a 70-yard bomb with 31 seconds left. The Ravens would go on to win the game in overtime, and the rest is proverbial history.

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, but the Ravens will have to be good to be able to call on Lady Luck. That's not something we have seen from them much this season—just look at the 17 players they have on injured reserve.

It even seemed like the Ravens would squander their opportunity to get into the playoffs. They needed help to get there, and they got it when the San Diego Chargers fell far behind the Kansas City Chiefs. They looked flat against the Cleveland Browns, down 10-3 at one point in the third quarter before roaring back to clinch a spot.

That doesn't sound like a team primed for a deep playoff run. Anything could happen, as they say. Just don't say that to Flacco, per KSPR.com: 

"

I'm not going to be surprised if, three weeks from now, we're sitting here and still playing. I think when I say anything can happen -- or if I was to say that -- that's implying we don't deserve to win any games in the playoffs. We played a tough year, had lots of ups and downs, but obvious enough ups to give us a chance to go win it and that's what we're going to do.

"

The good fortune may have already begun for the Ravens, however.

Le'Veon Bell, the fantastic Pittsburgh Steelers running back and Offensive Player of the Year candidate, will likely miss the game with an unfortunate knee injury he suffered against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17. His loss could be a huge gain for Baltimore—as expendable as running backs seem to be these days, Bell has been an integral part of the offense for Pittsburgh.

Perhaps Bell's absence will be the difference in this heavyweight bout.

The path to the Super Bowl becomes familiar should the Ravens get past their hated rivals in the Wild Card matchup—this time a trip to New England comes first by a likely rematch in Denver. The Broncos seem beatable these days, and Baltimore has played the Patriots tough in the playoffs for years.

For that to happen, Flacco will have to recapture some of that postseason magic from two years ago. Fantastic play can be infectious, after all. Perhaps Lady Luck will smile upon Baltimore again this January.

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