If not for wide receiver Steve Smith's dramatic payback against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, the main storyline would've been about quarterback Joe Flacco's nearly flawless performance in the Baltimore Ravens' 38-10 win.

Top Ravens single-game QB ratings QB Year Opp. Rating Joe Flacco 2014 Carolina 137.4 Kyle Boller 2005 Green Bay 136.8 Joe Flacco 2009 Chicago 135.6 Tony Banks 1999 Tennessee 134.7

Flacco's 137.4 passer rating was the highest in the 19-year history of the Ravens franchise, which has played a total of 313 games (including playoffs). He completed 22 of 31 passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns.

Asked about Flacco's performance Monday, coach John Harbaugh said, "Joe played probably his ...I don’t know. You say, ‘What’s his best game?’ He’s had some incredible games here, but just numbers-wise -- quarterback rating-wise, it was [outstanding]."

Was it the best game Flacco has ever played? Of course, Flacco has made big plays in bigger games. He led the Ravens to a Super Bowl title two years ago by throwing for 287 yards and three touchdowns against the San Francisco 49ers.

When basing it purely on numbers and not the magnitude of the game, it's hard to argue that Flacco has been better than he was Sunday:

Flacco produced a perfect passer rating (158.3) on third downs, completing 8 of 9 passes (88.9 percent) for 179 yards and two touchdowns. After an incompletion on his first third down of the game, he completed his final eight pass attempts on third down and converted first downs each time.

He was 6 of 8 (75 percent) for 172 yards and three touchdowns on throws at least 15 yards downfield, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Flacco is the first quarterback since Drew Brees in Week 17 last year to have three touchdowns and no interceptions on deep throws.

Flacco was also perfect (158.3 passer rating) when the Panthers blitzed him. He was 7 of 9 (77.8 percent) for 149 yards and two touchdowns when Carolina sent five or more pass rushers. His average per attempt was 16.5 yards.

"The thing that I notice is the combination of the fact that he minimized the downside in so many situations," Harbaugh said. "Whether he was being pressured or whatever, he did not have a downside play the whole game. Could he have read two or three plays better? That’s everybody, of course. But there was no downside play."

Harbaugh added, "He made plays, and especially third down-and-long plays when he had pressure coming at him. He had to get the ball off, he took a couple hits, and he drilled the ball in there to guys and guys made catches and got the ball across the first-down line knowing where the line was at. That’s the kind of execution that you’re really proud of, and that happened for us on offense.”