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Joe Flacco's injury only the latest to plague Ravens

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) looks for an open man to throw to during the first half of an NFL football game against the St. Louis Rams in Baltimore, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

Earlier today, the Baltimore Ravens lost another key piece to their offense; this time around, it happens to be their top piece, QB Joe Flacco.

Flacco tore his ACL and MCL on the game-winning drive in the Ravens' 16-13 win over the Rams.

Also going down in the game was RB Justin Forsett, who broke his arm in the first quarter. Forsett was replaced by rookie fourth-round draft pick, Javorius Allen.

Flacco came into the game ranked in the top 10 in accuracy percentage, deep passing, passing under pressure, and play action passing, and was PFF’s 17th ranked quarterback overall.

Taking over for Flacco next week will be 34-year-old Matt Schaub. Schaub has played in just one game since the 2013 season (Week 13 with Oakland last year), and has a -15.2 grade since his last solid season in Houston (+18.9 in 2012).

Flacco and Forsett join WR Steve Smith Sr. (the sixth-rated WR for PFF) as the Ravens' top offensive players from their respective positions to suffer serious injuries this season.

Offensive coordinator Marc Trestman's first bad injury omen came on his first day of training camp as a Ravens' coach when top draft pick WR Breshad Perriman injured his knee, and has yet to play a snap all season. As a matter of fact, just this past week Perriman, was placed on, you guessed it, IR.

The injuries haven’t limited themselves in Baltimore to the offense, though. Don’t forget it was way back on opening day when star linebacker Terrell Suggs tore his ACL, ending his season before it really had a chance to begin.

So what does all this mean for Baltimore? With a general manager like Ozzie Newsome and a head coach like John Harbaugh, in unlikely we'll see any major changes. Even after winning Sunday's game, the Ravens are still only 3-7 and have little-to-no chance at reaching the playoffs.

I wish I could find a silver lining in all of this, but the Ravens are a veteran team playing for Super Bowls. When disaster like this strikes, the only thing to do if you’re a Baltimore fan is to keep an eye on the development of younger players like Allen.

If Allen shows progress in these remaining six games, it’s possible he could supplant Forsett in camp next year. Forsett was only ranked 32nd overall by PFF heading into the game today, so he is replaceable.

Rookie TEs Maxx Williams and Nick Boyle, as well as second-year TE Crockett Gilmore, are all ranked in the top 10 at the position.

I don’t expect that should change under Schaub. When Shaub was at his best in Houston, he enjoyed using the tight end position as a major part of his arsenal, sometimes too much, in fact.

The Ravens will return in 2015 a healthier, hungrier team, aided by a higher-than-anticipated draft position. With a G.M. like Newsome, maybe that’s the best a fan can take out of this injury-plagued season.

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