Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco had performed extremely well to end the regular season after being signed off the street.
One of the major issues was the Super Bowl-winning quarterback’s turnovers. He had committed nine giveaways in five starts since signing with Cleveland.
Heading into Saturday’s NFL Playoff game against the Houston Texans, that was a concern.
We didn’t see anything come to fruition on this end in the first half. But with Cleveland down 24-14 in the third quarter and driving to make this a one-score game, the bad Flacco showed up. That included the veteran throwing an absolutely pathetic 82-yard pick six into the hands of Texans defensive back Steven Nelson.
We know that Flacco was facing pressure from Derek Barnett. There is also a good chance that he was looking to throw the ball away. But you simply need to take a sack in that situation.
There is absolutely no reason to act the part of a hero. You are in field goal range. It’s first-and-10. Take the sack and go from there.
The Browns’ next possession also saw him throw another pick-six in pretty much ending the game. This time, it went into the hands of Texans linebacker Christian Harris.
Uh. A 38-year-old quarterback with 185 career regular-season starts under his belt telegraphing a pass in a playoff game?
Yeah, that’s just not going to cut it.
Those watching the game had their obvious reactions to seeing Flacco melt down in what could very much be his final NFL game.