Back in mid-November, Joe Flacco was not even on an NFL roster, but later that month, he joined the Cleveland Browns‘ practice squad not knowing what to expect.
Well, here we are in January, and Flacco has won four straight starts to lead the Browns into the playoffs.
I’m not sure anyone anticipated Flacco leading any team to a postseason berth going into this season, but football is weird like that sometimes.
At 38 years old and with a Super Bowl championship under his belt, Flacco is the elder statesman in Cleveland’s locker room, and he has learned to embrace his role as the veteran leader.
“This is the 16th year I’ve been in this league,” Flacco said, via Cleveland.com. “You can tell guys look at you a little bit differently just because of that. I always say, ‘If I messed up in high school, I could be these kids’ dads.’ There is something that — they probably do look at me a little bit differently just because of that. To get a sense of what kind of impact, who knows? I’m just being myself and trying help them win games. I think that when you’re yourself, that’s the best chance you have to impact people. So hopefully I’ve had something.”
It seems safe to say that Flacco has certainly had a positive impact.
Not only has Flacco saved the Browns’ season, but his teammates seem to love him, and Cleveland’s fanbase has also fully embraced the signal-caller after viewing him as an AFC North rival from all of his years with the Baltimore Ravens.
Through five starts this season, Flacco has thrown for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 60.3 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 90.2. Most recently, Flacco went 19-for-29 with 309 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in the Browns’ playoff-clinching win over the New York Jets last Thursday.
With Cleveland being locked into the No. 5 seed in the AFC, Flacco will not be playing in the team’s season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend.
We’ll see if Joe Flacco has any more playoff magic left in the tank when the Browns begin their postseason quest in the Wild Card Round later this month.
Cleveland is 11-5 on the year.
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