The Joe Flacco era commenced yesterday with little fanfare from the strong arm that made him the Ravens' franchise quarterback.
Instead, Flacco's initiation into the NFL was defined his legs, his wits and his grit.
Running 38 yards into the end zone off an audible and providing the key block on the Ravens' other touchdown, Flacco placed his hard-nosed stamp on the Ravens' season-opening 17-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
In a town where a blue-collar defense has dominated the football landscape for the past decade, Flacco supplied a workmanlike performance of his own, one that was warmly embraced by the sellout crowd of 70,978.
In the first half, fans waved purple placards that read, "Wacko 4 Flacco." In the second half, the crowd chanted, "Let's go Flacco," something none of the previous 15 starting quarterbacks in Ravens history had ever inspired.
"I kind of thought I heard it, but I wasn't really sure. I thought, 'Why would they be doing that?' " Flacco said with a laugh. "Hey, if I can keep them on my side like that, it will be a good time."
The 18th overall pick in this year's draft, Flacco was thrust into the starting role because medical issues sidelined the team's top two quarterbacks, Troy Smith (tonsil infection) and Kyle Boller (season-ending shoulder injury).
Not surprisingly, he finished with a less-than-stellar stat line: 15-for-29 passing for 129 yards and a 63.7 quarterback rating. But the key was he didn't turn the ball over and turned up the intensity when it was required.
With the Ravens holding a 10-3 lead late in the third quarter, Flacco delivered a significant blow by scrambling 38 yards for a touchdown, his longest run in a game since high school.
The memorable dash began with modest expectations.
"I started running, and I was thinking, 'first down, first down, first down,' " Flacco said of the run that came on first-and-10. "I got to the first-down point, and I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I don't think there's anybody there.' I just started going upfield, and I just thought, 'I'm going to get in the end zone here.' "
The play started with a fake handoff and a rollout to the right by Flacco, who received some help from a couple of teammates.
Center Jason Brown hustled nearly 20 yards downfield to take out one defender, and wide receiver Mark Clayton blocked a cornerback inside the 5-yard line.
That created a clear path for Flacco, who dove into the end zone for his first career touchdown.
