Despite a strong performance against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, the Cleveland Browns have not committed to Joe Flacco as their starting quarterback in the future.
Flacco completed 23 of 44 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns. His lone blunder occurred in the fourth quarter at an inopportune time. He attempted a deep pass to Elijah Moore, but it was intercepted by Rams safety John Johnson III.
After Johnson returned the interception 42 yards, it was all downhill for the Browns. Cleveland was only down 20-19 when the interception occurred, but Los Angeles scored 16 unanswered points to win the game.
The interception was bad, but Flacco gave the Browns a spark at quarterback that they haven’t seen much of this season. Despite this, Stefanski declined to support Flacco as the starter in the future.
“I’m not going to get into all of that,” Stefanski said following the defeat. “I thought he saw things clearly and made sound decisions.” He did exactly what we expected him to do.”
Flacco is unsure of his future in Cleveland, but he clearly wants to be involved.
“I think anytime you get a little taste of playing football, you want to keep that going for as long as possible,” he said.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who missed the game due to a concussion, would be the backup. Thompson-Robinson was in concussion protocol this week, but he did not clear it in time for the game. His status is still unknown, but he should be fine for next week’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Thompson-Robinson adds some mobility, but he has made rookie mistakes and does not command the offense as well as Flacco.
Joe Flacco Accepts Responsibility for Costly Interception
Flacco was quick to blame himself for the interception that changed the game’s momentum.
“I’m just mad at myself.” I’m confident in my ability to play the game. “My thought process is simply dissatisfied with myself,” Flacco explained.”
“I think right now it’s impossible to sit there and reflect on positives.”
While the game was expensive, there were some positives to take away from it. Flacco’s passes were intercepted by nine different players. Elijah Moore, who previously played with Flacco on the New York Jets, had his best game of the season, hauling in four passes for 83 yards.
What was more impressive was that Flacco played more than half the game without Amari Cooper’s assistance. The veteran receiver left the game in the first half after suffering a concussion.
Cooper has been the Browns’ most productive wide receiver by far. He has the most receptions (49) and yards (799) for the Browns. He’s also the team’s only receiver who averages more than 10 yards per catch.
Myles Garrett Reactions to Joe Flacco’s Performance
Flacco joined the Browns on November 20 and had little time to learn the offense. Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns praised Flacco’s performance against the Rams.
“He did well and he ran the offense pretty well for his first time out,” Garrett said of him. “We can all do better. But all we have to do now is make plays down the stretch.”
The Browns’ defense has been able to save the team in some difficult situations this season, but they are also dealing with injuries. Denzel Ward, the team’s star cornerback, has missed the last two games due to a shoulder injury, and veteran safety Rodney McLeod is out for the season due to a knee injury.
Cleveland gave up 399 yards of total offense to the Rams. The Jaguars, who average 23.1 points per game, will be another tough test for them next week.
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