In Cleveland, sadly, the Browns haven’t had much success since the NFL allowed them to call their expansion franchise the “Browns” in 1999, after the late Art Modell relocated the original Browns to Baltimore four years earlier.
But they have had an 11-win season this year, adding a win Thursday night at home over the New York Jets, and are back in the playoffs for just the third time since ’99 (Joe Flacco leads Browns to just third playoff berth since 1999).
Somewhat ironically, one of the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, Joe Flacco, is partially responsible.
Flacco is the latest in a line of quarterbacks that have taken snaps for the Browns this year, from the wealthy DeShaun Watson to the journeyman P.J. Walker, to Dorian Thompson-Robinson, to Flacco, it’s been a long ride, Cleveland.
But a 37-20 win over the Jets on Thursday gave the Browns their first playoff appearance since 2020. And they have a better record currently than the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chefs, who are 9-6 and honestly, look like a mess.
“Pretty special night for this organization,” Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Pretty special night for the fans out there.”
And just a few weeks ago, Flacco, formerly one of the league’s highest-paid quarterbacks, wasn’t even on a roster. The Browns put him on their practice squad in late November, and that turned out to be a brilliant move after Watson, whom the Browns chose to be their franchise quarterback but is having a problem staying healthy, suffered an injury to a shoulder that is forcing him to miss the rest of the season.
Flacco, the former Super Bowl MVP, is soon to be 39 and is looking like a savior. He threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns in Thursday’s win. And it’s not out of the question that the Browns could still win the AFC’s number one seed, although the Ravens would have to lose their last two games, and some magic would have to happen for that to occur. Baltimore hosts Miami this Sunday, and Pittsburgh next week.
Cleveland obviously has already played this week, with the win over the Jets. The Browns finish the regular season with a trip to Cincinnati.
