The Baltimore Ravens new-look, no-huddle offense with Joe Flacco pulling the trigger was the talk of the NFL after Week 1. Flacco seemed ready to truly join the NFL's elite quarterbacks.
Then again, maybe the Cincinnati Bengals defense played a small part.
The no-huddle turned pedestrian in a 24-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
"They did a good job all day of just coming up there and putting enough guys in the box and putting pressure on our receivers," Flacco told CSNBaltimore.com. "They've got two good corners that it's tough to consistently do a lot of damage on those guys, and they've got a good pass rush up front. So we have to get the ball out of our hands quickly."
A move to the no-huddle and elevation of Flacco as the centerpiece of the offense raised that very concern.
Is Rice now a high-priced decoy? Rice had 16 carries for 99 yards against the Eagles. He had 10 carries for 68 yards in Week 1.
"I'm not the play-caller," Rice said. "I just do what I'm asked to do when my name is called. There were some times that we were third and short and I would have loved to see our fullback get some more calls."
Rice was praising the new role just a week ago. That's the difference between a win and a loss.
Like we said then, if Rice can be Plan B and the team continues to win -- it's all good. But if Flacco goes 22-of-42 passing like he did Sunday and the losses pile up, the Rice question will be asked more and more.
Follow Kareem Copeland on Twitter @kareemcopeland.
