The Baltimore Ravens will be at the Meadowlands on Sunday to open their 2022 season against the New York Jets. Many familiar faces from the Ravens’ past will be on the field as members of the Jets, including one that led the team to a Super Bowl victory in 2013.
New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh announced on Wednesday that quarterback Joe Flacco will start Week 1 against Baltimore while quarterback Zach Wilson continues to recover from a knee injury. The news doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as the buildup for a potential matchup between Flacco and the Ravens have been building up for weeks.
Coach Saleh has announced that QB Joe Flacco will start Sunday’s game.
— New York Jets (@nyjets) September 7, 2022
Flacco was drafted by the Ravens in the 2008 NFL Draft and spent 11 seasons in Baltimore. The veteran quarterback had success during his time in a Ravens’ uniform, which included leading the team to a Super Bowl where they defeated the San Francisco 49ers.
Following practice on Wednesday, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh spoke with the media. When asked about facing off against the quarterback he spent a decade with, Harbaugh said it may feel a little different, but the end goal is to win.
“Probably, before the game it will be good to say hello, but once you get into the game, it’s the game. We have to defend their offense, and Joe [Flacco]’s ability to play in that offense, and that’s really what we’re looking at. We talked about it today, we anticipated that Joe would be the guy. That’s who we talked about today in our meetings. We’re on track, and we’re going to have to do a good job. Joe’s a heck of a quarterback. He’s capable of making plays, making throws, he’s experienced, he knows what he’s doing. They’re confident in him, so we’re going to be at our best and put our best foot forward defensively against that offense on Sunday.”
Harbaugh wasn’t the only one to speak about facing off against Flacco. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson also made some comments about playing against his former teammate and what he learned during his time with the veteran.
“It meant a lot playing with a Super Bowl QB.”
Lamar Jackson on learning from Joe Flacco when he came to the Ravens: pic.twitter.com/E4HzNJ0Gsv
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 7, 2022
“Actually, I’m not going against Joe [Flacco], the defense is. I’m going against the Jets defense, but he meant a lot. Playing with a Super Bowl quarterback, seeing what he did on the field, stuff like that, how he took apart the game, took apart practice and stuff like that. Seeing him sling the ball from one side of the field to the next side of the field, from our 20 [-yard27453 line] to the opposite opponent’s 20 [-yard line] … It was ridiculous. It will be great seeing him.”
Flacco accounted for 38,245 passing yards and 212 touchdowns during his 11 years in Baltimore.