BALTIMORE — Joe Flacco and the rest of Baltimore Ravens’ offense were grounded in Indianapolis.

The Ravens got off to a slow start and struggled to find any continuity for most of the game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Baltimore was held to 287 total net yards and was limited to 1-for-11 (9 percent) on third downs.

In the end, it was a tough loss to a good team on the road. Baltimore can quickly recover when it travels to Tampa Bay next week. The Ravens (3-2) are still tied with Pittsburgh for second place in the AFC North, one game behind the Bengals, who were trounced by New England 43-17 on Sunday night.

“We didn’t do particularly well in the first half possessing the football, getting first downs, all things that we wanted to do and we turned the ball over and yet we were down by three,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “It indicates we have a lot of guys that will fight and the red zone defense was really outstanding. Three turnovers, starting with that, that will hurt you. We took it away four times though. They got 10 points, we got 3 points off the turnovers so that’s probably part of the difference.”

Baltimore’s 9 percent conversion rate on third downs is the lowest for a Colts opponent dating to Nov. 28, 2010, against San Diego. The Chargers were 0-for-8.

Flacco was scrambling most of the day trying to buy time in the pocket. He was sacked four times. Prior to the game, the Ravens offensive line had not allowed a sack in three consecutive games. It was the most sacks Baltimore allowed in a game since Dec. 22, 2013, against New England when it allowed four.

Flacco completed 22 of 38 attempts for 235 yards with an interception. The four sacks cost the Ravens 38 yards.

Steve Smith had an uncharacteristic fumble on the Ravens first play from scrimmage, which set the tone for the offense the entire day. The Colts had the ball for 38:43, compared to just 21:17 for the Ravens.

“It started with the first play out of the gates, we made too many mistakes,” Flacco said. “We didn’t convert first downs and I don’t think we put ourselves in very good positions to convert a handful of those; there were some longer situations.

: Anytime you turn the ball over and you’re not keeping yourselves on the field, it’s going to be tough to win. We couldn’t continue our drives and even when we got a first down or two, we would eventually get halted. We just didn’t put it together.”

Defensively, the Ravens held up well, despite getting little help from the offense. The Colts had the luxury of playing on a short field because of several Ravens miscues.

However, Baltimore’s defense did wear down near the end of the game and the Colts offense had a 100-plus rushing yard game for the fourth consecutive time. Indianapolis also had more 400 net yards for the fourth time this season.

Indianapolis put together a 20-play drive at the end of the second quarter, which led to a field goal. The last time the Colts recorded a drive of 20-plus plays came on Oct. 8, 2000, against New England (22 plays).

The Colts also scored both of their touchdowns in the second half. The Ravens’ defense was simply on the field too long. Luck was sacked just once.

“They had two long drives, converted some third downs, those kinds of things,” Harbaugh said. “Liked to see us off the field. We hit the quarterback a few times. We didn’t get as many sacks, he’s a hard guy to sack, as you know, and they made a couple of big throws and catches there.

“Hats off to the Colts, I thought they played exceptionally well and they deserved to win the game at home and we will be back next week.”

NOTES, QUOTES

–Wide receiver Torrey Smith was more involved in the offense, catching three passes for 38 yards. However, he was targeted eight times and also had a couple of drops, including the one on the Ravens’ last play of the game when they were looking to tie the game in the finale minute.

“It was catchable,” Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. “I mean it was a tough catch. It was a challenging play to make. Very challenging play to make. Those are not plays you see made every play in the National Football League.”

–Quarterback Joe Flacco had his worst performance since the season-opener against the Bengals. Flacco completed 22 of 38 for 235 yards with an interception. He was also sacked four times that cost the Ravens 38 yards.

Flacco had a 65.1 passer rating.

“I know they came after us a pretty good amount and some of those times in third down, whenever it was we were in five-man protections and when they do that and when they come after us, there’s a spot to go with the ball and we weren’t quite able to make those plays,” Flacco said. “You have to credit those guys for having the confidence to come after it and cover in the back end and do their thing, but we wish we could have hurt them a little bit more because they did come after us a little bit and you want to be able to take advantage of that.”

–After four straight weeks of more than 100 receiving yards, Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith came spiraling back to the ground against the Colts. Smith had five catches for 34 yards and had a costly fumble on the Ravens first drive of the game.

“Turnovers make or break a game,” Smith said. “We didn’t help ourselves. Obviously on the first play I fumbled, so that’s inexcusable on my part. We never seemed to really recover from it or get in a good rhythm.

“They’re also a good team. We didn’t play like we were the better team and we allowed them to do what they wanted to.”

–One of the glaring problems for the Ravens’ offense against the Colts was the failure to get the running game going. Baltimore ran the ball just 15 times for 90 yards, which helped the Colts hold a 38:43 to 21:17 time advantage.

Running Back Justin Forsett, who had 42 yards on six carries, agreed the offense put the defense under too much pressure.

“We want to be able to control the clock at all times, especially on the road,” Forsett said. “Emphasis on controlling the clock and controlling the ball. We didn’t do that today. The defense did a heck of a job trying to hold them out of the end zone as long as they could but we’ve got to play better.”

REPORT CARD

PASSING OFFENSE: D — Quarterback Joe Flacco struggled for much of the game and was under constant duress because the offensive line struggled with pass protection. Flacco completed 22 of 38 for 235 yards with an interception. The four sacks cost the Ravens 38 yards. He did not get much help from his receivers as Torrey Smith could not haul in a pass that would have kept alive a potential game-tying drive and Steve Smith had a crucial fumble. Flacco had a 65.1 quarterback rating.

RUSHING OFFENSE: C — The Ravens simply did not commit to the running game, which hurt their ability to control the clock or put together sustained drives. Baltimore ran the ball 15 times for 90 yards (6 yards per carry) and running back Justin Forsett scored the Ravens’ only touchdown from 11 yards.

PASS DEFENSE: C — The Ravens mostly contained the NFL’s top offense and did not allow a touchdown in the first half. Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck was 32 of 49 for 312 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Baltimore had some match-up issues with the Colts receivers.

RUSH DEFENSE: C — Baltimore allowed 117 yards of rushing, but they held up well despite having to be on the field for much of the game. Linebacker Pernell McPhee had the Ravens’ only sack.

SPECIAL TEAMS: D — Returner Jacoby Jones inexplicably let a punt bounce off of his leg in the first half and the Colts recovered the ball. He was benched for the gaffe. As a whole, the return game provided no spark when the Ravens crucially needed it. Sam Koch was solid with five punts for an average of 48.4 yards. Justin Tucker made both of his field goal attempts from 52 and 27 yards.

COACHING: D — The Ravens simply did not appear ready to play at the start of the game and committed a turnover on their first play from scrimmage. Coach John Harbaugh lost a challenge on the spot of a ball that would have led to a first down. He also chose to go for a touchdown on a 4th and goal and was stopped, rather than just attempting a short field goal that would have tied the game at 3. Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak did not commit enough to the run, which hurt the team by getting dominated with time of possession.