Jets are next test for Baltimore Ravens receiver Torrey Smith

Untold dozens of well-wishers did something last weekend that St. Louis couldn’t.

They shut down Baltimore receiver Torrey Smith.

After catching three touchdowns in 37-7 roasting of the Rams, Smith received so many texts and emails that his cellphone quit on him.

“It was a record number,” he told reporters last week. “I had a few hundred text messages. My Twitter page, my app had a bunch of zeros” indicating it had crashed, “and everything was kind of jammed up.”

Smith scored on each of his first three catches of the game, and finished with five receptions for 152 yards.

He would happily endure another electronic meltdown for an encore performance Sunday night against the New York Jets. He will make his second career start in place of Lee Evans, who is recovering from an ankle injury.

Although he said his friends and former teammates at the University of Maryland “weren’t shocked at all” by his spectacular game because they have seen him play that well before, Smith conceded he isn’t expecting to do the same thing against the Jets.

“To me, it’s really just trying to improve,” he told reporters. “I know the likelihood of scoring three touchdowns again isn’t too good. For me, it’s just trying to continue to get better as a player.”

The eldest of seven children, Smith helped raise his siblings and had to become the man of the house very early in his life. It’s only natural then, that he would step right into a prominent role with the Ravens and look nothing like a rookie.

“I will say this: I was a little shocked when I saw this kid catching three touchdowns in one quarter, and he really could have had five,” said Jets Coach Rex Ryan, former Ravens defensive coordinator. “He’s a fast guy and all that kind of stuff, but I don’t think he’ll have equal success this week. If he does, then I’m just going to stay in Baltimore.”

— Sam Farmer