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.
NFL world reacts to Joe Flacco throwing brutal pick-six
Those watching the game had their obvious reactions to seeing Flacco melt down in what could very much be his final NFL game.