For Joe Flacco to Regain Form, Ravens Receivers Must Stop Dropping Passes

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has been known for his inconsistency over the years—good games followed by poor ones with no explanation.

This season, he's settled down some. Helped by the additions of veteran free-agent wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., tight end Owen Daniels and running back Justin Forsett, he's posting up the third-highest completion percentage of his career (62.0 percent), the most passing yardage (3,986), the most touchdowns (27), an average amount of interceptions (12) and his fewest sacks (19).

Still, Flacco's last two games haven't been his best, and his season, believe it or not, hasn't been as good as it could have been. And the reason is simple: dropped passes. His receiving targets have dropped 37 passes this season according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Only one quarterback, Andrew Luck, has dealt with more drops this year.

These drops are game-changers. Nearly seven percent of all of Flacco's catchable passes have been dropped, and this has cost him—and, in turn, the Ravens—472 yards in the air, and unknown yardage after the catch. He's lost more air yards than any other quarterback to this drops problem.

Atts.	Comp.	Comp.%	Yds.	TD	INT	Sacks	Drops
555	344	62.0%	3,986*	27*	12	19*	37

It's unfortunate, because without the drops included, Flacco is the league's 13th-most accurate quarterback in the league and has Pro Football Focus' seventh-best quarterback rating. And it's something that, should it continue into Saturday night's meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers, will cost the Ravens from advancing deep into the playoffs.

Smith Sr., Torrey Smith and Daniels, as Flacco's biggest targets, are unsurprisingly the source of most of these dropped passes. Smith Sr. has been targeted 130 times (133 according to ESPN), with 79 receptions, six touchdowns and eight drops. Smith has 89 targets (or 92 or 93), 49 receptions, 11 touchdowns and 11 drops. Daniels has 72 targets (79 per ESPN), 48 receptions, four touchdowns and five drops.

Of the 37 dropped passes, 24 have come from these three receivers. And when those three receivers are the heart of Baltimore's passing offense, comprising at least 291 of Flacco's 555 regular-season passing attempts, then it's not hard to see how much this has affected Baltimore's offense this year.

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Flacco has struggled in his last two games. He didn't start racking up yards and touchdowns until the fourth quarter against the Browns, which was ultimately a 20-10 Ravens win, and he threw three interceptions in Week 16 against the Houston Texans, after a four-game stretch in which he threw six touchdowns to one interception.

Those two games were like the ghosts of Flacco past—inconsistent, tentative under pressure and uncharacteristically inaccurate, considering the season he's been having. However, the five dropped passes in that two-game span did him few favors, as well. 

On Saturday night, Flacco faces his biggest foe, the Steelers, on their home field and on the biggest stage they've played on yet this year.

The Steelers defense has not exactly been stingy with the passing yards, ranking 27th in that category and allowing an average of 253.6 passing yards per game. It has given up 30 touchdowns, 50 completions of 20 or more yards and 15 of 40 or more yards, according to NFL.com.

Receiver	Tgts.	Rec.	TD	Drops
Smith Sr.	130	79	6	8
Smith	89	49	11	11
Daniels	72	48	4	5
Brown	29	24	0	0
Aiken	33	24	3	1
Jones	16	9	0	5
Forsett	56	44	0	2

At the same time, Baltimore's defense has been similarly as porous in the secondary. It has given up 54 completions of 20 or more yards, 10 of 40 or more and is allowing an average of 247.8 passing yards per game. Should the Ravens prodigious front seven, which has totaled 49 sacks this year, be corralled by Pittsburgh's pass-protection, Saturday night's game could be a shootout.

So too could any of the potential matchups later in the playoffs be passing-game clinics. Flacco cannot afford his top receivers to drop crucial passes with so much on the line.

Smith Sr. acknowledged his "terrible" play at the beginning of December against the San Diego Chargers, per Ryan Mink on the Ravens' website. He said that, "I can attribute it to a lot of stuff, but at the end of the day, I have to stay focused." Wherever his focus went, it needs to return on Saturday night and be sustained through the playoffs.

Larry French/Getty Images

The younger Smith, never known for catching a great number of the passes thrown to him—he's at under 50 percent on his career—must also regain focus. He's disappeared at times, his 12 targets against Houston that resulted in just five catches the most recent example. His 11 touchdowns are a career-high, but with more receptions on catchable passes, he could be a monster for the Ravens. 

A quarterback is only as good as his receivers, especially when that quarterback is having a career year yet has still had to deal with 37 catchable passes dropped. Just one drop on Saturday night by a Ravens receiver could cost the team a chance to advance in the playoffs. 

Flacco has stepped up his game this year; his receivers, however, have squandered the myriad opportunities this improved Flacco has given them.

Baltimore's receivers need to do Flacco justice in the playoffs. Taking  advantage of Pittsburgh's weakened secondary gives the team the best chance to win on Saturday night. They cannot drop the ball, both literally and figuratively.