Joe Flacco threw five touchdown passes in the first half to give the Baltimore Ravens an emphatic 38-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the interval of their NFL clash tonight.

The visitors were ahead after less than two minutes of play as Flacco fired a pass to Torrey Smith, who made his way into the endzone for a 15-yard score.

A Mike Glennon interception allowed the Ravens a chance to extend their advantage, and it was the same pair that combined again for a second score as Flacco found Smith for a nine-yard touchdown.

Flacco made it three scoring passes in the first quarter with five minutes remaining as he picked out Kamar Aiken in the middle of the endzone for a 17-yard score to make it 21-0.

The gap continued to grow as Baltimore dominated on both offence and defence, Flacco this time linking up with Michael Campanaro for a 19-yard score to make it four touchdowns in the opening quarter.

It was more of the same in the second as Steve Smith latched on to another fine Flacco pass for a 56-yard score, with the extra point extending the visitors' lead to 35 points.

Tampa Bay finally prevented the Ravens from reaching the endzone on their next possession, although they were unable to keep them off the board altogether as Justin Tucker slotted a 46-yard field goal.

There was no more scoring in the first half, however, as the Ravens went into the break with a 38-point advantage.