(Photo by The Dallas Morning News)
A Super Bowl ring and the game’s MVP trophy to your name can afford you a lot. It can when it can make you the highest paid player at your position. It definitely can when you are a quarterback.
In 80 games from 2008 to 2012, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had accumulated a 102:56 touchdown-to-interception ratio, 17633 yards through the air, and a passer rating of 86.3. Since winning the MVP for Super Bowl XLVII, his numbers have gone in the opposite direction. From 2013 to 2016, he has a ratio of 69:55, yardage total is 13063, and rating of 81.3.
He is currently recovering from an ACL tear that took place on November 22, 2015 and is nothing even to close to what quarterbacks are excessively and generously given: The Comeback Player of the Year Award. He has four multiple interception performances in his nine-game season and, consequently, the second-worst passer rating of his career, 78.3.
Even though the Ravens allow the fewest yards per carry (3.3) and rushing plays of 20 yards or more (11), Flacco’s mistakes could give the upcoming opponent, Dallas Cowboys, more opportunities outside of the offense to win. The Cowboys might be susceptible to the run as it allows 4.1 yards per carry. But they overcome that by allowing the NFL’s third best average of 82.6 rushing yards. The reason for such a low allowance is the Cowboys’ average time of possession of 32 minutes and 51 seconds (2nd in the NFL).
With that causing them to possess the ball 55.9 percent of the time, the opponent will have just 27 minutes and 9 seconds to run an offense, hence causing it to throw more. This season, Flacco has already been left to such a challenge by needing to throw 42.1 times per game, and in seven games where he has thrown at least forty passes, the aforementioned four multiple-interception games have occurred then.
Many of you reading this may be in a standardized fantasy football league and could use the Cowboys defense in your lineup. In such a league, an interception usually equals 2.0 points, and if Flacco’s throwing totals are set to increase you might be in luck. You could have an automatic 4.0 points if Flacco’s four-game trend extends to five, and the fun does not stop there.
The Cowboys currently allow 18.9 points per game, and when they have faced teams that average fewer than 21.0 points (New York Giants, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Cleveland Browns), those teams have been limited to an average of 15.6. The Ravens currently score 20.2 points per game, and if their total is limited to the range of or lower than the former five, you could have an extra 1.0 to 2.0 points as scoring totals of 7 to 13 equal 1.0 and 14 to 20 equal 2.0.
Lastly, with the offense having given up 2.0 to 3.0 sacks to each of the team’s last seven opponents, you could have as many as 9.0 automatic points as one sack equals 1.0. The Cowboys only have 19.0 sacks this year, but with six of the Ravens’ past seven opponents having fewer than 20.0 sacks, the odds of the Boys gaining multiple sacks look pretty good, and that could be a decider in how your fantasy matchup goes.