ESPN Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley evaluates Joe Flacco's conservative yet aggressive performance over the Dolphins last week and the momentum they carry heading into Monday night's game against the Patriots. (0:35)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- There will be plenty of theories for Joe Flacco's turnaround if the Baltimore Ravens quarterback continues his hot streak Monday night at the New England Patriots and guides his team to the playoffs.

Some will suggest it started with Flacco and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg hashing out the quarterback's criticism of the "conservative" offense. Others will believe it came from Ray Lewis publicly questioning Flacco's passion.

What shouldn't go overlooked is an anniversary that nobody other than Flacco remembered. Last Thursday marked one year since he underwent season-ending surgery.

On Dec. 8, 2015, Flacco had the torn ACL and MCL in his left knee repaired. On Dec. 12, 2016, he leads the 7-5 Ravens, who are just behind the 8-5 Steelers in the AFC North, into Gillette Stadium against the AFC East-leading Patriots (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), looking as comfortable as he does confident on the field.

"Before, you could tell, he was nursing the leg a little bit," tight end Dennis Pitta said. "Not that he couldn’t move. You could just tell that it still affected him. Now he’s out there running around practice like nothing is wrong."

For most of the season, it would take three or four days following games before Flacco's knee felt good. These days, he doesn't even think about the knee during the week or during games.

Joe Flacco heads to New England riding a hot streak that just happens to coincide with a year since his knee surgery. Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Flacco is also feeling his coordination coming back with his left leg, which was evident in his last game. Moving around and outside the pocket, Flacco gained a rhythm as he threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns -- his most since injuring his knee -- in a 38-6 win over the Miami Dolphins.

"It's still coming together, but it’s definitely getting back to close to where it was," Flacco said.

No motivation from Ray

Criticism of Flacco has ranged from his decision-making to his mechanics to how he slides with his knee brace. But nothing compared to the harsh words from former Raven Ray Lewis, who has a 9-foot statue sitting outside of where Flacco plays every home game.

Last month, Lewis told Fox Sports 1 that he saw talent from Flacco, but never passion. Since Lewis' comments, Flacco has thrown for the third-most passing yards in the NFL (884) and is the league's eighth-rated passer (102.5).

Did this light a fire for a quarterback who was previously the 29th-rated passer in the NFL? Flacco cracked a smile and chuckled when told of his increased production in the three games following Lewis' remarks.

"I haven’t thought about it one bit, to be totally honest with you," Flacco said. "It’s funny how things work, though. That’s what I would say."

Flacco hasn't run into Lewis to address the comments. But Flacco did catch a shortened version of Lewis' apology, which was posted on Twitter.

If Flacco has ever been affected by criticism, teammates say they haven't seen it.

"It was one of those things where he could laugh about it," Pitta said of Lewis calling out Flacco's lack of emotion. "[Flacco] is the leader of this locker room. Whether he outwardly displays his passion or not, we know it’s there."

Talk leads to touchdowns

Neither Flacco nor Mornhinweg will talk much about the specifics of their talk that stemmed from the quarterback venting his frustration after 19-14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 27.

"It was an honest conversation between a coach and a player that happens all the time," Flacco said.

Mornhinweg added, "We have conversations daily on a lot of a different things. That is really nothing new.”

However the Ravens want to characterize it, the offense became more aggressive and productive after that. In Sunday's win over the Dolphins, Flacco completed a franchise-record 36 passes and the Ravens scored 38 points, their most in 37 games.

"One thing Marty has never been accused of is being conservative –- that’s not a label he takes too kindly to, as Joe [Flacco] can probably attest," coach John Harbaugh said after the game.

The Ravens weren't surprised that Flacco spoke out about the direction of the offense.

"I think it was healthy to air that out," Pitta said. "It wasn’t a huge issue. It was just one of those things where we felt we could have been more aggressive, and he wanted to come out and say that –- and it helped us. You sometimes see guys say something that is detrimental to a success of a team. That wasn’t his intention."

Feeling at home in Foxborough

Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked about the areas where he has seen the most improvement from Flacco over the years.

"It seems like he always plays well against us, so I have a lot of respect for him," Belichick said.

Flacco said last week that other teams are intimidated by playing the Patriots in Foxborough -- but not the Ravens. That starts with Flacco, who is one of four quarterbacks to win multiple games at Gillette Stadium in the Tom Brady era (since 2001).

In his last six games there, Flacco has averaged 236.8 yards passing and has thrown 13 touchdowns, which are the most by an opposing quarterback there in the last eight seasons. Since 2009, Flacco's 92.6 passer rating at New England is higher than Peyton Manning's (91.2) and Andrew Luck's (48.8).

If Flacco can defeat the Patriots and finish the next three remaining games strong, it will likely spark the "elite" quarterback debate once again. Some Patriots believe Flacco already belongs in that category.

"He’s got elite arm strength," defensive end Chris Long said. "He’s tough. He’s smart. He can move around a little better than people give him credit for in the pocket. He does a lot of things that make him an elite quarterback.”