Sep 8, 2008 9:16 am US/Eastern
Harbaugh, Flacco Sparkle In NFL Debuts
BALTIMORE (AP) ―
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John Harbaugh is a coach with the Ravens.
There will be days for John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco when things don't go right. Sooner or later, the Baltimore Ravens will struggle to generate offense and will lose a football game.
That inevitable occurrence won't ruin what both men accomplished in their NFL debuts.
Thrust into the starting quarterback role by default, Flacco ran for a 38-yard touchdown and helped the Ravens beat the Cincinnati Bengals 17-10 Sunday, making a Harbaugh a winner in his first game as a head coach.
"It could have gone better," said Harbaugh, ever the perfectionist. "We've got a long way to go, but this is a good start."
For Harbaugh and his rookie quarterback, who last year was playing against the likes of Rhode Island and West Chester for the University of Delaware, it was day to cherish.
Flacco went 15-for-29 for 129 yards and no interceptions. His unexpected touchdown run around right end on a busted play put Baltimore up 17-3 in the third quarter.
"The whole time I was thinking, 'Please, if somebody's about to run and hit you, just slide,"' center Jason Brown said. "But the kid, he has so much heart, I knew that he wasn't going to do that."
If Flacco was unnerved playing in his first NFL game, he sure didn't look like it. Or feel like it.
"It's just football. It's a lot of fun, though, just like it's always been," said Flacco, the 18th overall pick in the NFL draft.
"Our offense was in control all day. And obviously we had a lot of help from our defense."
Rex Ryan, retained as defensive coordinator when Harbaugh replaced Brian Billick, put together a game plan that rendered the Cincinnati offense helpless. Chris Perry gained 37 yards on 18 carries and Carson Palmer was 10-for-25 for 99 yards and an interception.
Palmer's 35.2 quarterback rating was the lowest of his career. "It's not demoralizing, it's disappointing. Disappointing and frustrating," Palmer said. "But you've got to move on. In this league, in this division, there's going to be teams that go to the playoffs possibly with eight wins, with nine, at the most 10 or 11.
In our division, with who we play this year, it's going to be a battle, week in and week out."
Chad Ocho Cinco, forced by the NFL to wear Chad Johnson on his jersey, was held to one catch for 22 yards. He praised the blitz-oriented defense deployed by Ryan.
"Two thumbs up to him and what they did today. It was unbelievable, and I told him after the game," Ocho Cinco said. "I don't know what they were playing. That's some playground defense."
Cincinnati's lone touchdown came on a 65-yard fumble return by Johnathan Joseph. Palmer couldn't take the Bengals closer than the Baltimore 17, and that drive ended with an interception.
"We got outplayed," Palmer said. And Palmer was outdone by Flacco, whose performance belied his experience.
"He played like a veteran. He played poised," Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason said.
After Joseph's return of a fumble by rookie Ray Rice made it 17-10 with 10:15 left, the Bengals faced a fourth-and-1 at the Baltimore 25. Perry ran into Haloti Ngata for a 1-yard loss, and Baltimore held the ball the rest of way.
On Baltimore's final drive, Le'Ron McClain ran for 40 yards. He finished with 86, or 21 more than the Bengals ground game generated.
"We didn't run the ball effectively enough," Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis said.
"That's on me," said Perry, the replacement for departed Rudi Johnson. "You can't put that on anyone else but me."
Cincinnati's only points in the first half came on a 43-yard field goal by Shayne Graham with five seconds left that made it 10-3.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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