NEW ORLEANS -- As time expired on Super Bowl XLVII, Ravens players Bobbie Williams and Arthur Jones lifted quarterback Joe Flacco off the ground. It was the moment Flacco joined the elite quarterbacks in the NFL.
Flacco earned Super Bowl MVP honors as well as a fat new contract.Flacco becomes a free agent with the season's end, and after completing 73 of 126 passes for 1,140 yards, 11 touchdowns, no interceptions and a 117.2 rating in four postseason victories, the Ravens will reward him richly."Joe Flacco's the best quarterback in football," running back Ray Rice said. "I'm just saying. When you win a Super Bowl, and when you do everything he's done this postseason, ... Joe Flacco's the best quarterback in football now."Flacco was unflappable in the first half, completing 13 of 20 passes for 192 yards, three touchdowns and a 135.8 rating. He had the Ravens up 21-6 by the time Beyonce came on for her halftime performance."Joe is phenomenal," coach John Harbaugh said. "We were sitting third-and-six-inches. Joe has three play options, and he decides to throw the fade to Anquan [Boldin]. He throws it right on the money, and Anquan goes up and makes the play. To me, it shows you he has got guts. He has got the guts of a burglar. He was doing it all night, making plays."The Ravens increased their lead to 28-6, but it didn't end that easily.Flacco finished 22 of 33 for 287 yards, three touchdowns and a 124.2 rating as the Ravens held on 34-31 despite a power outage that seemed to shift the momentum and to fuel a 49ers' comeback."I think it is fitting that we won that way," Flacco said. "We are a tough, blue-collar city, and that's the way our games kind of come down," Flacco said. "We were up 28-6, and I'm sure a lot of people were nervous. We were kind of like, 'This one might be pretty easy,' and the next thing you know, the Niners got right back into it. They play great football, and we had to grind it out."Flacco was money, figuratively and soon to be literally. He earned his place, and he earned a payday."I think he's grown by leaps and bounds week after week after week," offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell said. "But he's been winning a lot of games throughout his five years. This is a great culmination and the start of a great career."Charean Williams, 817-390-7760Twitter: @NFLCharean
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