Making just his second appearance in a Cleveland Browns uniform Sunday afternoon against the Jacksonville Jaguars, veteran quarterback Joe Flacco did his thing.
The Super Bowl-winning signal caller completed 26-of-45 passes for 311 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. It represented the best performance from a Browns quarterback all season as they defeated Jacksonville by the score of 31-27.
Cleveland had gone with rookie mid-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson as its starter in replacing the injured Deshaun Watson up until last week. DTR had suffered a concussion and couldn’t go against the Los Angeles Rams. Signed off the street, Flacco started in his stead. He played pretty well in a 36-19 loss to the Rams, completing 23-of-44 passes for 254 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
But what we saw from Flacco on Sunday was much different. In fact, it led to Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski naming him the starter for the remainder of the season.
“It was definitely an ugly game. Mistakes on both sides. I definitely didn’t play the cleanest football today on my end,” Flacco said. “But I have a feeling that’s the way this team kinda likes it. They really react well at times like this.”
Related: Ranking Joe Flacco among NFL’s starting QBs
Joe Flacco career stats: 61.5% completion, 42,574 yards, 234 TD, 148 INT
It is still somewhat surprising that Flacco was literally watching football at his mom’s house three weeks ago given the substandard quarterback play and injuries we’ve seen at this position during the season.
Flacco, 38, is now starting for a Browns team that boasts an 8-5 record and is firmly in the AFC Playoff picture. By Virtue of Sunday’s win, the team is currently the fifth seed in the conference heading into Week 15. Given the injuries, this has to be seen as surprising.