By CJ Carlson
Joe Flacco is officially BACK. The quarterback suited up for the Cleveland Browns for the second straight week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, helping them win a 31-27 matchup. The victory was so impressive that head coach Kevin Stefanski immediately announced Flacco as the starting quarterback for the rest of the season.
The 38-year-old signal caller threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in the victory. Stefanski was asked about his performance and said, “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 our guys, doing their job, giving us their best, and I thought that’s what he did.”
One thing that was blatantly obvious was that Flacco already has great chemistry with Amari Cooper. He targeted Cooper on 14 different pass plays, which was a whopping six more than the next closest receiver. Cooper had seven receptions for 77 yards thanks to the large target share. Tight end David Njoku also had a phenomenal game with over 90 receiving yards and a couple of touchdowns through the air.
Flacco did admit afterwards that it was an ugly game on both sides and that he didn’t play his cleanest game, yet he understands that a win is a win. He said, “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.”
Joe Flacco Pushes Cleveland Further Up The Standings
Cleveland finished with the most yards they’ve accumulated in a single game since Week 2, racking up 389 yards to get themselves to an 8-5 record. They are currently in second place in the division following a loss by the Pittsburgh Steelers and were already a game ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals.
They do still remain two games below the Baltimore Ravens in the division, who are also up there competing for the top spot in the AFC Conference as a whole. Regardless, Cleveland is sitting at the fifth seed in the conference due to other losses to the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts. The former Super Bowl MVP has an awful lot of playoff experience on his back and could help take this Browns team to heights they never thought imaginable once Deshaun Watson was ruled out for the season with an injury.
