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Was it Joe Flacco’s Fault? Interception No. 2

By Joe Schiller

BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 31: Quarterback Joe Flacco #5 of the Baltimore Ravens passes in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium on December 31, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - DECEMBER 31: Quarterback Joe Flacco #5 of the Baltimore Ravens passes in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at M&T Bank Stadium on December 31, 2017 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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We continue the series taking a look at all of Joe Flacco‘s 2017 interceptions. Today features No. 2 on the year.

After just one post sparked plenty of debate, we’re back with the second installment of the series taking a look at every one of Joe Flacco’s interceptions throughout the 2017 season.

Of the 61 votes on the Ebony Bird Twitter account, 77% of people agreed with me that Flacco’s Week 1 interception was not his fault. Terrance West should have made the catch on the play. I thought it was fairly easy to determine that verdict but interception No. 2 has brought about a completely new challenge.

This one is going to be interesting.

Week 2: Browns 

Out of all the AFC North opponents, Joe Flacco has had the most success against the Cleveland Browns, much like many other quarterbacks. He’s 17-2 all-time with 27 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Up 7-0 with just over one minute into the second quarter, Flacco targeted Mike Wallace on one of his patented deep balls. Wallace pulled up mid-route in an obvious miscommunication between the two sides, leaving safety Jason McCourty with one of the easiest interceptions of his career.

At the time, the interception extended Flacco’s streak of eight straight games with an interception.

I’ve had to look at this play a number of times to figure out what’s going on. Clearly, Flacco and Wallace aren’t on the same page, a common theme throughout the 2017 season. Flacco missed the majority of the offseason dealing with a back injury and never had the chance to develop a true rapport with his receivers.

If you watch the video, Wallace is a running a deep route with the intention to cut towards the left field sidelines. Flacco thinks Wallace is running a deep fly and hurls the ball towards the left hashmark instead. Once Wallace realizes the ball isn’t being thrown his way, McCourty is already in position to make the interception.

Next: Ravens: Examining different starting offensive line combinations

There’s really not a right answer here without hearing from Flacco or Wallace themselves. But for the sake of conversation, I’m putting the blame on Flacco here. It’s on him as the signal caller to develop the chemistry with his receivers and throwing a pass in two deep safety coverage seemingly never works out.

VERDICT: Flacco’s Fault

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