"Maligned in past seasons for being too predictable and conservative, the Ravens offense was neither in Sunday's 37-7 rout of the winless St. Louis Rams.

Facing the league's worst run defense, the Ravens instead took to the air, and the result was a career-best 389 passing yards for quarterback Joe Flacco, three first-quarter touchdowns for rookie receiver Torrey Smith and a franchise-record 553 total yards.

The performance left the usually low-key Flacco heaping praise on the aggressiveness of the game plan. It also provided more evidence of the urgency the Ravens feel in trying to establish a downfield-passing game to better match up against some of the league's elite teams, even if it means temporarily shelving the run-first mentality.

"You have aspirations to win a championship obviously — [and] that is the idea — you have to be able to attack people in every different way," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh. "But that's not to say that we're not going to run the ball, too. We pride ourselves on that also. You have to be able to do everything well."

The Ravens' game plan certainly figures to change significantly Sunday night when they host the New York Jets at M&T Bank Stadium. Rex Ryan's team allowed 234 yards on the ground (an average of 7.3 yards per carry) in a 34-24 loss to the Oakland Raiders Sunday. They also boast of one of the game's best cornerback tandems in Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie (whose status is uncertain due to rib and lung bruises he suffered against the Raiders.)"