Then, in the third, two daggers: First, an end-around that fooled cornerback Leon Hall and left Mason alone for Clayton's 32-yard touchdown pass. Then, a 70-yard scoring bomb from Flacco that Clayton pulled in with one hand because Hall was grasping the other when the ball arrived.
The window has been open for Clayton for a while, as teams loaded up on Mason and the receiving corps' health and experience level shrank. But this game illustrated the difference between saying it was just a matter of time and that time actually arriving.
"Oh, it's huge," said Flacco, who might have had his best day of decision-making all season. Defenses "can't double that guy or double this guy. You have to play your coverages pretty straight. You have a chance to look for as many guys as you can, and they're all making big plays. It's great."
