Joe Flacco's Son Once Benched Him in Fantasy Football—and He Made the Right Choice

Both Joe Flacco’s son and wife benched him in fantasy football in Week 2. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Joe Flacco might be a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, but his family is certainly keeping him humble.

Such was made clear during Season 3 of the Netflix series Quarterback, which follows the lives of Flacco, Cam Ward, Jayden Daniels and Baker Mayfield during the 2025-26 campaign. In episode one, Flacco’s son Frank revealed that he once benched his dad in fantasy football.

But although Frank might not have taken “family first” to heart, his fantasy instincts were on point.

Frank benched his dad while attending the Browns’ Week 2 matchup against the Ravens, Flacco’s first game back in Baltimore since leaving the franchise with which he won Super Bowl XLVII. In the episode, Frank is seen in the stands telling his mom, Dana, “If Dad goes off, I’m gonna crash out.”

Dana replies: “What do you mean?”

And Frank responds, “‘Cause I benched him.”

To which Dana says, “I hope he goes off.”

Dana, who married Flacco in 2011, then revealed that she also plays fantasy football and also had her husband on her fantasy bench during the game.

"If Dad goes off, I'm gonna crash out." 😂

Joe Flacco's son & wife had him on the bench in fantasy football 😭

Quarterback Season 3 is now playing. pic.twitter.com/Es2iSQZjE7

— Netflix Sports (@netflixsports) July 15, 2026

Both Frank and Dana clearly made the right decision that week. In his homecoming to Baltimore, Flacco completed 25 of 45 (55.6%) of his passes for 199 yards, one touchdown and one pick, as the Browns were blown out 41–17. Flacco finished just 27th among quarterbacks in fantasy points that week with 9.8. The only starters who finished with fewer points were Justin Fields, Joe Burrow, Michael Penix Jr., J.J. McCarthy and Geno Smith. Both Fields and Burrow left their games early due to injury.

But if Frank or Dana started Jared Goff that week, they were in luck, as Goff led all quarterbacks in fantasy points with 34.8 after throwing five touchdowns in a blowout win over the Bears.

For the sake of Frank and Dana’s fantasy teams, hopefully they kept Flacco on the bench throughout his tenure in Cleveland. Playing behind a struggling Browns offensive line—which has been fully turned over this offseason—and with a limited receiving core (also since upgraded with two high draft picks at receiver), Flacco completed just 58.1% of his passes for 815 yards, two touchdowns and six picks over four games in Cleveland.

Hopefully, though, Frank and Dana did opt to start Flacco in Week 7, after he was traded to the Bengals and threw for 342 yards, three touchdowns and no picks in Cincy's Thursday Night Football win over the Steelers (a.k.a. the clash between two quarterbacks aged 40 or older). That week, Flacco recorded 26 points, sixth-most among quarterbacks. But Flacco’s family would have been even better off if they started him in Week 9. Though the Bengals lost to the Bears in a shootout, Flacco threw for 470 yards, four touchdowns and two picks that week for a total of 32.7 fantasy points, second-most in the league. It was his highest-scoring game of the season, and one of just three games that saw him surpass 20 fantasy points.

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