Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco’s statistics were nearly as ugly as the purple bruise decorating his hip.
Despite a painful right hip contusion that’s also affecting his quadriceps and hobbling his mobility, Flacco gutted it out to help lead his team to a 33-14 AFC wild-card victory Sunday over the New England Patriots on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
Flacco’s throwing motion was awkward as he completed just 4 of 10 passes for 34 yards, no touchdowns and one interception, but he displayed his grit in scrambling for a key first down and connecting with wide receiver Mark Clayton for another first down.
“We’ve got a tough quarterback,” offensive coordinator Cam Cameron said.
Despite the discomfort, Flacco and the Ravens are heading to the AFC divisional round where they’ll take on the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday night.
“It’s my quadriceps,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s just the fluid running down and doing that to me or what, but as the week went on it started to feel a little bit better.
“I have to make sure that I take the next couple of days to give it a little rest and then get ready for Indianapolis. I feel like I’ll be feeling great and moving 100 percent when we get there next week.”
Although it’s hard to fathom that Flacco could heal that quickly as he deals with another injury in an injury-plagued season where he has had a sprained ankle and a sore shoulder, Flacco’s teammates are confident in him after watching him play with a lot of heart against New England.
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