Joe Flacco Reacts To Being Named Browns Starter For Remainder Of Season
Ahead of kickoff between the Browns and Jaguars, Kevin Stefanski wasn't giving anything away.
His starting quarterback for Week 14 was the worst kept secret in Cleveland, but he refused to announce whether Joe Flacco or Dorian Thompson-Robinson would be starting under center. It wound up being the former and the results were glorious.
26-of-45 passing, 311 yards, three touchdowns. There was an interception and a fumble in there, but don't let those blunders distract from what a Browns QB pulled off today. The performance was enough to make Stefanski just come out and say what everyone expected after a 31-28 win.
"Yes," Stefanski said when asked if Flacco was the team's starter the rest of the way. "I think you expect him to get better as he gets more comfortable in our system with our players, those types of things. But we just talked about him and all of our guys doing their job, giving us their best and I thought that’s what he did.”
Of the four quarterbacks who have started a game for the Browns this season, Flacco became the first to throw for 300 yards in a game. He was the first Browns QB to do it since Jacoby Brissett accomplished that feat over a year ago against the Bills in a game that got relocated to Detroit due to a blizzard.
He's the first Browns QB to throw three touchdown passes of 30-plus yards since Brian Sipe did it in 1980. In a two week span he has as many 250-yard, multi-touchdown performances as Deshaun Watson and former Browns QB Baker Mayfield, combined since 2021.
Here's a fun one, Flacco now has more 300-yard, 3 TD games this season than 14 NFL teams have this season. That's a list that includes the Steelers, Mayfield's new team – the Bucs – and the team Cleveland just beat, Jacksonville.
"Well, obviously it feels good when it looks like people have confidence in you," Flacco said of being minted officially as the Browns starting QB. "I know I’ve been in a bunch of locker rooms, but whenever you walk into a locker room you still want to gain the respect of everybody and you don’t know if you quite have that until you can go out there and get a win and continue to do it day in and day out. You try to carry yourself the right way and you try to do all the right things, but that doesn’t guarantee anything in terms of going out on the field on Sunday. So, it feels awesome to go out there and get the win. I do feel like we’re doing a lot of good things."
Dec 10, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) throws a pass during the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
© Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
A little over a month ago, the 38-year-old Super Bowl champ was watching the Browns on his couch. Playing catch in the yard with his kids to stay ready. After a season-ending injury to franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson, Cleveland came calling and Flacco answered. In a two-game sample size he's remarkably taken the city and its playoff hopeful team by storm.
“Yeah, I think a player that’s been around and has had the career that he’s had, he can really lean on his experiences, lean on his games that he’s played, the different systems he’s been in," Stefanski said. "He just told that to the football team. Just some of the things that he’s been through and now we as a team have been through. It is good for you in the end.”
Ironically, Flacco's last 300-yard performance came against his new team, in Week 2 last season as a member of the Jets. That was probably the last time he flashed any semblance of the QB he used to be...that is until his arrival to Cleveland a few weeks back.
Since then, his inauguration to Cleveland and his team has been something to behold.
"I’m not a man of very many words in terms of well-spoken words," Flacco said, reflectively. "Coming up with words about how this feels, I’m not going to do a good job of that. There are so many different things that are running through my head. It’s unbelievable to be out there. It’s really a unique experience. I can’t say it enough to have children that are of the age where they understand what’s going on and I’m going to remember these things forever. Like I said earlier, I’m just trying to stay in the moment and be as grateful as possible and keep getting better.”
