It's been a long time coming for Mike Wallace.
Once a consistent deep threat who took the top off defenses regularly with the Pittsburgh Steelers to start his career, the receiver had become an afterthought. Then he found the Baltimore Ravens and Joe Flacco.
In Sunday's 13-7 victory over the Buffalo Bills, Wallace proved he can still perform in the right role. The 30-year-old caught three of six targets for 91 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown.
"A lot of people wrote me off," he said, via ESPN. "They think I don't have it, but I've got something for them. I told you all that from Day 1. They better get ready, because I'm coming."
Miscast in Miami and Minnesota, Wallace landed in the ideal spot in Baltimore. His 66-yard TD is his longest reception since an 82-yard TD in Week 6, 2012 when he was a member of the Steelers. It's not a surprise Wallace got back in the deep-ball action now that he finally hooked back up with a quarterback known for his bombing precision.
Wallace might have lost a step over the years, but he still can burn.
"If you have a safety on me," he said, "he's dead every time."
Wallace's touchdown keyed the victory, but a spectacular grab by Breshad Perriman -- who missed his entire rookie season -- helped spur the action.
"I feed off the other guys," Wallace said. "Breshad had just went over the top of the other guy for the first down and a big play. I was like, 'All right, it's time for me to get one.' We have bets over who's going to get a 40-yard touchdown first, so he kind of owes me right now."
With Perriman finally on the field, Wallace with a big-armed passer, the immortal Steve Smith Sr. still carving up DBs, Kamar Aiken and a gaggle of tight ends, the Ravens boast a deep pass-catching corps for Flacco to utilize heavily in 2016.
