Joe Flacco’s impressive performance last Thursday night during a Bengals home win against the Steelers had everyone in league circles showing some love for the 40-year old quarterback.
Well, almost everyone.
Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters on Friday he had missed Flacco’s performance.
“I did not [see Flacco’s performance],” said Stefanski. “I’m definitely asleep on Thursday nights.”
The coach did share some positive feelings for his ex quarterback, admitting: “You’re always rooting for all of your friends around the league, and that really happens on a lot of teams, but really mostly focused on our team and what we got in front of us.”
It should surprise no one that Stefanski prefers to talk about what’s in front of him — a showdown at home against another 1-5 AFC team, Miami Dolphins — than what’s in the rearview mirror. Since being traded away to Cincinnati, Flacco has been stellar, completing 60 passes out of 92 attempts for 561 yards and five touchdowns without an interception. Also, he hasn’t fumbled the ball for the Bengals.
That’s a far cry from what he exhibited for the Browns to start the season, when he was 93 for 160 passing, for 815 yards with two touchdown passes and six interceptions, adding to lost fumbles as well. Cleveland went 1-3 with Flacco under center to start the season.
Nonetheless, Flacco’s sudden midseason resurgence has led many to believe the passer was not the problem, but the system and players around him. Succeeding him as the Browns starter, third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel has struggled to muster any explosiveness on offense, completing 48 of 85 passing attempts for 411 yards with two touchdowns and zero picks.
Flacco’s first tour of duty with Cleveland netted him the Comeback Player of the Year Award for the 2023 season, when he went 4-1 in five starts, leading the Browns to their most recent playoff berth. The veteran quarterback, now with his sixth NFL team, signed on to play for the Colts last season, before coming back to the Browns on a one-year deal.
Now, Flacco gets to play on one of Cleveland’s division rivals’ roster, one blessed with two top level wide receivers in Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
In the meantime, Browns’ fans are left wondering — once more — if the team blew it at the most important position in the game, at a moment where voices calling for fifth-round rookie Shedeur Sanders keep getting louder.
After Friday’s media session, it might be time to ask Stefanski if he’s not fallen asleep at the wheel, too.
