Joe Flacco’s career, Browns’ season revitalized by a phone call

Joe Flacco played for two teams and started 17 games in four years after his time with the Ravens ended following the 2018 season.

Want to guess the number of games his team won in those 17 starts?

Hint: It averages out to less than one win a season.

Joe Flacco has saved the Browns, but the Browns also revived Flacco’s career when General Manager Andrew Berry invited him to Berea for a tryout on Nov. 17.

Flacco made his first start for the Browns on Dec. 3 against the Rams. The Browns lost, but they won their next four with Flacco at the controls.

Think about Otto Graham, Frank Ryan, Brian Sipe, Bernie Kosar, Tim Couch, Baker Mayfield. Flacco is the first Browns quarterback in franchise history to pass for 300-plus yards in four consecutive games. He is the first player in NFL history to pass for at least 250 yards and two touchdowns in each of his first five starts with a team.

The surge created by Flacco clinched the fifth seed in the AFC when the Browns beat the Jets, 37-20, on Dec. 28. Because of Flacco and a dominating defense, the consensus in Northeast Ohio is this Browns team is built to go deeper into the playoffs than the one that was eliminated by the Chiefs in the 2020 divisional round.

Las Vegas is not convinced. ESPN Bet lists the Browns as +2500 to win the Super Bowl and shows a Football Power Index of only 2.4 percent to make the Super Bowl. The Ravens, Bills, Chiefs and Dolphins have better odds of making the Super Bowl from the AFC.

“Obviously, it’s been feeling pretty good to go out there and win football games,” Flacco said. “I don’t know if you’re necessarily aware of what you’re doing in the moment. But to win, it feels good. So everybody’s excited, and I’ve said it before, you can see it in everybody’s eyes. We’re all excited to go out there and play football games right now.”

The Browns were desperate for a veteran quarterback seven weeks ago. Deshaun Watson suffered a right shoulder fracture in a game with the Ravens on Nov. 12, which put Berry and Coach Kevin Stefanski in the untenable position of finishing the season with rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson and inexperienced P.J. Walker as the only quarterbacks on the roster.

The last start for Flacco prior to him answering Berry’s call for help was in the Jets’ 2022 season finale, in which he completed 19 of 33 passes for 133 yards with no touchdown passes and no interceptions. So there was a logical reason more than 10 months went by without an NFL team contacting him. He was a combined 3-14 in one season with the Broncos and three with the Jets, although his touchdown to interception ratio of 20-11 does not reflect the won-loss record.

Flacco’s tryout with the Browns was on a Friday — two days before a home game with the Steelers. Flacco was signed to the Browns practice squad on Nov. 20 and 13 days later started against the Rams. Even in that loss, he played as though he had been with the Browns since the start of training camp.

Stefanski chose to rest Flacco against the Bengals Dec. 7 to assure his quarterback will be healthy when the Browns playoff march begins at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 13 against the Texans in Houston.

“Very happy that we had a chance to pick Joe up,” offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said. “He’s proved that it was a great decision. He’s played great. and he’s put us in a position where we are now. I couldn’t be more pleased.

“The biggest thing for me is just the immediate connection with the receivers. I mean, there are some routes down the field that are like handoffs. He’s accurate at all three levels of the field. That to me, has been what’s most impressive. To come in and just be on the same page right away with the guys, it just shows what a vet is.”

Flacco instilled a sense of calm in the locker room. There was a feeling of uncertainty before his arrival, especially after Watson was injured. The season could have slipped away. A heroic effort by the defense would have been wasted.

And something else: Stefanski and Van Pelt have incorporated more deep passing into the game plan because Flacco is so accurate on his long passes. Flacco has 27 completions of 20-plus yards in just five starts. By comparison, Watson had 12 in five games plus less than one quarter of another.

“Joe throws a very pretty ball,” Amari Cooper said. “I don’t know if it’s intentional or what, but when he drops back and he lets it go, the whole motion is like poetry in motion. It looks good. He throws such an easy ball to catch. So, yeah, I mean, receivers, if you ask any receiver, they love a very catchable ball.”

Flacco’s success goes beyond his flashy numbers. His 13 touchdown passes are more than the total thrown by Watson, Walker, DTR and Jeff Driskel (11) in the 12 other games. Aside from that, Flacco has instilled a feeling of confidence among players and fans that he will find a way to win.

“At this point in my career, I couldn’t care less if I throw for a touchdown pass or not,” Flacco said. “It’s about winning the football game. I think at some point in your career you fight the urge to want to have good stats. You want to prove that you’re this kind of player, that kind of player.

“It really doesn’t matter, man. It’s been nice to be able to just focus on winning football games and everything else is secondary.”

Browns fans have taken to Flacco quickly, and he to them. Cleveland Browns Stadium was packed the night they beat the Jets. The fans chanted “Flacco! Flacco!” seemingly loud enough to be heard across Lake Erie into Canada. Certainly they were loud enough for Flacco to hear.

“Just put yourself in that position,” Flacco said. “I mean, you can’t deny it. I said it from the very beginning. I mean, the city has been unbelievable. My teammates have been unbelievable in terms of just embracing me onto this football team.

“So it’s all been great and it makes it that much more special to be able to come in here and play some good football.”

Now might not be the right time, but the question Berry will be asked after the Browns play their final game of the 2023 season is, “A.B., where do you go from here with Flacco?”

Flacco’s contract with the Browns ends when their season ends. He has proven he shouldn’t be kicked to the curb just because he’ll turn 39 on Jan. 16. Some team is going to offer him a job for 2024, even if it’s to mentor one of the quarterbacks expected to go early in the draft in April.

Pause a moment to think how good the Steelers might have been if they had Flacco for 17 games in 2023. As it is, they finished 10-7 with Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph at quarterback. Flacco might be a Steeler in 2024 if the Browns let him walk.

Watson is under contract for three more years at $46 million per season. Berry will have to be quite the salesman to convince anyone that not re-signing Flacco is the right thing to do.