Browns announce QB Joe Flacco will remain starter for rest of 2023 season
Cleveland has its starting quarterback for the remainder of its season.
After turning back the clock with 311 yards, three touchdowns and an interception to lead the Browns to a 31-27 victory over the Jaguars on Sunday, 38-year-old Joe Flacco received the QB1 nod from head coach Kevin Stefanski.
Asked if he Flacco would be on top of the depth chart for the rest of the way, Stefanski gave the obvious answer after such a clutch performance: “Yes.”
“Played well,” Stefanski said regarding Flacco. “You expect him to get better as he gets more comfortable in our system with our players, those type of things. But we just talked about him and all our guys, doing their job, giving us their best, and I thought that’s what he did.”
Flacco got Sunday’s game started off with a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive highlighted by a 34-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open David Njoku.
Three punts followed, but thanks to a Cleveland’s defense piecing together a first-quarter shutout, the Browns had the opportunity to go up two scores on their first possession of the second quarter, which again ended with a 30-plus-yard strike from Flacco to Njoku.
That was the theme of the game for the Browns, who often came alive in spurts under Flacco and were able to hold on against a late surge by the comeback-minded Jags.
“It was definitely an ugly game,” Flacco told CBS’ Evan Washburn. “Mistakes on both sides. Definitely didn’t play the cleanest game on my end, but I have a feeling that’s the way this team kind of likes it. They really react well in times like that. Listen, I’ve been here for a couple weeks, and I’ve been watching them on TV for the last bit, and that’s kind of what I’ve seen. Hey, we’ll take them any way we can get them.”
Although two of Flacco’s TD passes went to Njoku and another went to David Bell in the fourth quarter, his instant chemistry with Amari Cooper was also clear throughout.
The Browns new QB1 looked for the team’s WR1 on 14 different occasions, six more than any other pass catcher, and the duo turned that into seven catches for 77 yards.
Once the smoke cleared, the Browns moved to 8-5, Flacco became the fourth Cleveland QB this season to earn a win and Cleveland’s offense finished with 389 total yards — its most since Week 2.
It all bodes well for Cleveland, which is now in the AFC’s No. 5 seed with a full-game margin over multiple teams after the Steelers, Colts and Texans all fell.
In the past three weeks, Flacco has put back on an NFL uniform off the couch, twice been elevated from the practice squad to play and once reverted back to the practice squad.
He won’t be leaving the active roster now.
More importantly to the Browns’ chances this season, the wily veteran has 16 years of experience and a Super Bowl MVP on his resume as he looks to guide Cleveland to the playoffs and beyond.
“So many times where I was just feeling like a 10-year-old kid again,” he said after the win. “And to be able to do that, you just can’t let it be lost on you how special it is to play this game.”
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2023 NFL season, Week 17: What We Learned from Browns’ win over Jets on Thursday night
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Browns win sloppy game, clinch playoff spot thanks to explosive plays. The headline is that Cleveland is in the postseason for only the third time since 2002, but the way it did it won’t award the Browns bonus style points. The 37-20 win over the Jets Thursday was by no means a work of art, but the Browns did make game-changing plays in all three phases. It just was a lot harder than it probably needed to be. They racked up 367 yards in the first half and they led by 20 points twice, but the Jets kept hanging around, mostly thanks to three Cleveland turnovers. David Njoku had a 113-yard first quarter but lost a fumble on the third play of the second quarter. Joe Flacco threw an ill-advised pick-six when there was no play to be made. Both times, the Browns had chances to put it away but couldn’t. After a scoreless third quarter, the Jets were just hanging around, and the Browns kept letting them. Pierre Strong Jr. coughed up a fumble pretty easily in the fourth, and the Browns’ defense was caught with 12 men on the field, wiping out a takeaway and gifting the Jets a field goal. After that, they ran out of gas, but the Browns could – and probably should – have put the Jets away sooner. And more cleanly.
Are the Jets really one Aaron Rodgers away from competing? It’s admittedly unfair to pose this question through the lens of a single performance, but watching the Jets get undressed in the first half – even with the Browns making their share of mistakes – begs the question of whether the Jets have the roster they thought they had in August, when there was so much excitement heading into the season. The defense was undressed by the Amari Cooper-less Browns, allowing 376 yards – more than they’d allowed in all but four complete games – and 34 points, which tied the most the team allowed in any game. The special teams mistakes, fumbling a kickoff and having a field goal blocked, were brutal. And the offense chipped in with a pick-six and eight penalties. The Jets lost close games this season to the Chiefs, Raiders, Patriots and Falcons and earned some quality wins, including over the Eagles, Bills and Texans. But after Thursday’s game, they’ve been beaten six times by three or more scores, including twice at home. Would better quarterbacking have helped? Of course. But with the 40-year old Rodgers coming off Achilles rehab, the Jets might want to have some honest, hard conversations this offseason about the personnel.
Flacco’s uneven performance bears watching. By game’s end, Browns fans were chanting Flacco’s name, as well they should. The QB has won four of his five starts and has thrown for 300-plus yards in each of them. His incredible story keeps adding a chapter, as he’ll be back in the playoffs as a starter for the first time since the 2014 season. But it was an up-and-down performance from him Thursday, even factoring in Amari Cooper being inactive four days after his 265-yard, two-TD receiving performance at Houston and with wide receiver Elijah Moore leaving the game with a concussion. Flacco was mostly hot early, as the Jets seemed to be chasing their tails defensively, leading some impressive drives. He racked up a career-best 296 pass yards and threw for three TDs in an explosive first half. But he also had a poor pick-six, nearly coughed up a fumble and had a few other regrettable throws. Then the second half happened. Flacco was only 3-for-7 passing for 13 yards in the second half, watching his accuracy escape him in real time. The Browns had a lead and had limited targets on hand, but that’s now eight interceptions in five games for Flacco – one in each game – and three fumbles. Those turnovers really haven’t cost him and his team yet, but they almost did a few times Thursday.
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