Joe Flacco stars as Baltimore Ravens hammer Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Joe Flacco threw five touchdown passes in the first half to help the Baltimore Ravens to a resounding 48-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this evening.

The visitors made a lightning start to the match, with Flacco picking out Torrey Smith for the opening score after less than two minutes had been played.

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Smith got a second touchdown shortly afterwards, this time finding space in the endzone to latch on to Flacco's nine-yard pass and make it 14-0.

Flacco then found Kamar Aiken in the middle of the endzone to extend his side's lead even further, before a fine catch from Michael Campanaro saw the quarterback pick up a fourth touchdown pass of the opening quarter.

There was more to come in the second as Smith eluded his man to reach a superb 56-yard pass from Flacco in the opening exchanges.

Justin Tucker then rounded off the first-half rout with a field goal that saw Baltimore go into the interval with a commanding 38-point lead.

The Buccaneers finally got themselves on the scoreboard in the third quarter, although they were restricted to a field goal as Patrick Murray kicked over from 47 yards.

Their improvement continued later in the quarter as Mike Glennon fired a 17-yard pass down the middle for Mike Evans at the front of the endzone.

Baltimore were back on the scoreboard themselves in the dying seconds of the third quarter, however, as Bernard Pierce raced in from four yards to restore his side's 35-point advantage.

Glennon got his second touchdown pass of the match in the early stages of the final quarter, combining with Louis Murphy for a three-yard score, but once again Baltimore hit back with a 49-yard kick from Tucker.

That saw the Ravens break their record for number of points scored in a road game, although they were unable to break the 50 barrier as they settled for a 31-point victory.