Who had Joe Flacco leading the Cleveland Browns (or any team, for that matter) to the playoffs on their bingo card going into 2023? If you say you did, you’re a liar.
Nevertheless, here we are, with Flacco and the Browns needing a win over the New York Jets on Thursday night to clinch a postseason berth.
It’s an ironic scenario, considering that Flacco expressed interest in re-joining the Jets following Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending Achilles injury in Week 1. However, New York opted to roll with Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle and also proceeded to sign Trevor Siemian as another backup. Of course, Flacco spent three seasons with Gang Green from 2020 through 2022.
While the Jets may not have gone anywhere with Flacco under center, it doesn’t change the fact that he almost certainly represented a better option than what they have trotted out week after week, and now, the veteran quarterback has his chance at revenge.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh provided his thoughts on Flacco heading into the matchup this week, saying that he appreciates the 38-year-old.
“Joe is awesome. Obviously, you know that we all love and appreciate Joe and [we] always felt very confident when he was on the football field. I have the utmost respect for Joe,” Saleh said, via the Jets’ official YouTube account. “I’ve said it before he’s like a Ford pickup truck, you might not like it in the summer but in the winter months December [and] January, that son of a gun starts humming. He is playing some really really good football.”
When Flacco was a backup for New York in 2022, Saleh said in training camp that he still believed Flacco had what it took to start in the NFL.
Well, Flacco has definitely proven that this season, as he has gone 3-1 since taking the reins as Cleveland’s starting signal-caller. Over those four starts, he has thrown for 1,307 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 59.4 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 85.1.
It hasn’t always been pretty, but it doesn’t change the fact that Joe Flacco has a chance to punch the Browns’ ticket to the playoffs with a win over his former Jets club.
Cleveland is currently 10-5 on the season.
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