In the AFC Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens were the heavy favorites to come out on top against the Houston Texans. With the Texans playing with a rookie quarterback in T.J. Yates and being pretty banged up all season long, the consensus was that the Ravens would run a clinch on the up-and-coming Houston squad and easily advance to the AFC Championship game.

Even though the Baltimore Ravens advanced the next round and are set to face Tom Brady’s New England Patriots this weekend in Foxboro, Joe Flacco somewhat struggled against the Texans’ defense and made Ravens’ veterans like Ed Reed nervous moving forward in the playoffs. Not only was Reed concerned about Flacco’s struggles against the Texans, but he spoke out about his quarterback with some criticism that could either help or hurt the up-and-coming quarterback.

With the Patriots being as good as they are on offense this season, the Ravens’ defense will have their hands full on Sunday against Tom Brady and company. That being said, the Ravens’ offense needs to be on their game this weekend in order to keep the defense fresh and ready to try and contain arguably the best offense left in the playoffs.

Despite being criticized by one of the greatest safeties in NFL history and fellow teammate, Joe Flacco has said that he spoke with Ed Reed and that the statement he made was no big deal. Even though that is what Flacco is currently saying, the wheels are almost certainly turning in his head as the big game draws near and his confidence could be questionable at best.

This will definitely be a statement game on Sunday with Joe Flacco’s legacy hanging in the balance. If Flacco can lead the Baltimore Ravens into the Super Bowl, he will have finally quieted his critics. If not, Flacco will have to deal with the heavy criticism for at least one more season until he comes through for his team.

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