"We really came alive at the end of the game, but it wasn't enough," said Flacco, who completed 22 of 34 passes for 215 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. "You think it's your game to have, and you think it's kind of over, but it didn't work out that way."
Player of the game: Joe Flacco 22 of 34 passing for 215 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Week 11 – Ravens 37, Panthers 13
Charlotte, N.C. – Bank of America Stadium
Joe Flacco recorded his first 300-yard passing performance of the season and Ravens defenders returned back-to-back interceptions for touchdowns in a 37-13 drubbing of the Carolina Panthers.
Flacco began by throwing a 56-yard touchdown pass to receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh on the second play of the Ravens' opening drive. He completed 24 of 33 passes for 301 yards in his largest offensive output since October 2009.
"Coming off the loss in Atlanta, we wanted to build on the season, play better and close out games," safety Ed Reed said. "We've got to do this as a team from start to finish if we want to be competing in late January."
Reed and cornerback Josh Wilson helped solidify the victory in the fourth quarter when they intercepted Panthers quarterback Brian St. Pierre and returned the picks for touchdowns on ensuing drives.
Player of the game: Joe Flacco – Completed 24 of 33 passes for 301 yards and one touchdown.
Week 12 – Ravens 17, Buccaneers 10
Baltimore – M&T Bank Stadium
Joe Flacco became the Ravens' all-time leader in touchdown passes in a 17-point second quarter that staked the Ravens to a 17-10 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Flacco's 65-yard touchdown pass to Todd Heap helped him eclipse former quarterback Vinny Testaverde as the team's all-time leader in touchdown passes.
"Vinny didn't play here that long, so it's not that much of an accomplishment," Flacco said. "Hopefully I can make that a little higher for somebody else to break in the future sometime."
On the next drive, Flacco found Derrick Mason in the end zone for a 10-yard score. The Ravens' quarterback completed 25 of 35 passes for 289 yards and also threw one interception. Mason finished with eight receptions for 87 yards while running back Ray Rice racked up 129 total yards, 82 on the ground.
Player of the game: Joe Flacco – completed 25 of 35 passes for 289 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Week 13 – Steelers 13, Ravens 10,
Baltimore – M&T Bank Stadium
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu's fourth-quarter sack of Joe Flacco stripped the Ravens' quarterback of the ball and set up Ben Roethlisberger for the game-winning touchdown pass in a 13-10 loss to the Steelers.
The loss ended the Ravens' winning streak at M&T Bank Stadium at an NFL-best eight games.
"It doesn't feel good," said Flacco, who finished with 266 yards and completed 17 of 33 passes. "I feel we gave this one away."
Flacco helped build the Ravens an early lead when he orchestrated a 92-yard drive in the first quarter that featured a 61-yard reception by Anquan Boldin and culminated when Boldin caught a 14-yard touchdown pass. From there, the Ravens received a 24-yard field goal from Billy Cundiff and held their lead until Roethlisberger connected with running back Isaac Redman on a nine-yard touchdown pass for the win.
The latest installment of the hard-hitting rivalry featured its standard array of jarring collisions. Roethlisberger was the recipient of a particularly violent blow when defensive tackle Haloti Ngata's left hand connected with Roethlisberger's face, causing his nose to bend and bleed.
Player of the game: Anquan Boldin – five receptions for 118 yards and one touchdown.
Week 14 – Ravens 34, Texans 28, OT
Houston – Reliant Stadium
Although the Ravens squandered a 21-point second-half lead, cornerback Josh Wilson returned a 12-yard interception for a touchdown in a 28-7 victory over the Houston Texans.
The Ravens lost their eighth fourth-quarter lead of the season when they allowed the Texans to climb back from a 21-point deficit, spurred by 15 points in the fourth quarter. The Ravens' defense – which had been shaky entering the contest – yielded Houston scoring drives of 99 and 95 yards on their final two series'.
"It's all about winning," Wilson said. "That's all we care about at the end of the day: Did we win or did we lose? It doesn't matter what the score is as long as we keep winning. If we win out, we're Super Bowl champs."
Willis McGahee rushed for only seven yards in the game, but scored Baltimore's first points on a 1-yard run in the first quarter. Then, Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes of nine and 26 yards, respectively, to receiver Derrick Mason in the second quarter before the team built its commanding lead when rookie David Reed opened the second half with a 103-yard kickoff returned for a touchdown.
