Flacco took a helmet to his left knee late in Monday night's win over the Detroit Lions, and La Canfora reports that Flacco will be fitted for a knee brace. While Flacco has experienced some discomfort, everything looks good structurally. Flacco will rest some -- he likely will be limited in practice this week and possibly sit out a session or two -- but everything is on track for him to play in Sunday's critical showdown with the Patriots.
"It wasn't really bothering me once the initial hit,” Flacco said Sunday night, via the Baltimore Sun's Jeff Zrebiec. "I was probably more scared than anything from just what I felt and also just trying to get a couple of yards out of it. Yeah, it feels fine. It feels strong."
The play in question happened in the fourth quarter after Ravens guard A.Q. Shipley, trying to get downfield to block on a screen pass, pushed Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy toward the backfield. As Levy was going down, his helmet hit Flacco just below his left knee. Flacco immediately went to the turf, grabbed his knee and needed help getting up before limping to the line of scrimmage to run another play on third down (it was an incomplete pass).
On the sidelines, team doctors tested Flacco's knee before wrapping it and sending him back onto the field for the Ravens' game-winning drive that ended with a <player idref=er 61-yard field goal.
"That was tough," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said of the hit. "He got a helmet right below the knee, so that will be something that I’m sure [the league will] take a look at. He fought through that. You know, Joe Flacco is a tough guy. Joe Flacco is one tough guy and he's a great player in crunch time."
With the victory over the Lions, the Ravens can now take the AFC North with wins over the Patriots and Bengals.
