Following Sunday’s 31-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns will take their time determining whether PJ Walker or Jeff Driskel will be their backup quarterback for the postseason.
In the Wild Card round, the No. 5 seed Browns will face the AFC South champion Houston Texans.
Driskel took the field on Sunday and struggled in the absence of many of the Browns’ starters. He finished with 166 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. It wasn’t beautiful, but the Browns must choose between Walker and Driskel.
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Walker has started some games this season but has struggled with turnovers. He had a QB rating of 52.2 after throwing 5 interceptions to 1 touchdown.
Both are currently on the active roster, and the Browns are unlikely to carry three quarterbacks into the postseason. After the game, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski said he wasn’t sure who would be Joe Flacco’s backup.
“We’ll handle that next week,” Stefanski promised.
Driskel stated prior to the game that he was not using Sunday’s game as an audition.
“I don’t think so,” Driskel said on January 4th. “The resume of every player in this league is what they put on the field.” But we’re only concerned with winning this game, and that’s all I’m concerned about. If I start thinking about things that may happen later, whether this year or in the future, I will be doing this team a disservice.”
Driskel, Jeff Know the Browns’ Offense
Driskel’s familiarity in the Browns’ system gave the Browns confidence in him as a backup. Driskel was signed off the practice squad of the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona’s offensive coordinator is Drew Petzing. He has previously worked with Kevin Stefanski and the Browns.
“Jeff’s a guy from Arizona with system knowledge,” Stefanski remarked on Wednesday, January 3. “P.J. Walker will serve as the backup.” He’s been fantastic for us. He began with games and won for us. But I just felt like it was the proper thing to do for the team in this case to give Jeff a chance to show us what he’s capable of.”
Driskel arrived to the Browns with 23 career games and 11 starts under his belt. He played for the Bengals in 2018, the Detroit Lions in 2019, the Denver Broncos in 2020, and the Houston Texans in 2021-22. He is now 2-10 in games he has started after Sunday’s defeat.
Prior to the game, Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com speculated that Driskel could secure the backup slot.
“If all goes well with Driskel in Cincy, he could be the Browns’ backup quarterback for the playoffs,” Cabot tweeted on Sunday, January 7.
Flacco’s career has been resurrected in Cleveland as a fill-in quarterback for Watson. The 38-year-old has gone 4-1 as the starter for the Browns, throwing for more than 300 yards in four consecutive games.
Deshaun Watson, the Browns’ franchise quarterback, has been out since a November 12 game against the Baltimore Ravens. In his absence, he has been rooting for the Browns from afar.
“They win and go to the Super Bowl; I’m going to the Super Bowl.” “They get a ring, I get a ring,” Watson, who is signed to a $230 million fully guaranteed contract, said. “I’m not tripping on any of that.” I’m hurt, so I can’t help you. People simply want something to say and discuss. It’s all very personal to them. This is a lot of fun for me.”
Watson will almost certainly be on the bench for the Texans’ postseason game. Watson spent his first four seasons in the league in Houston.
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