buzzing after Joe Flacco’s incredible comeback, and the Browns now think a Super Bowl appearance is attainable.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Joe Flacco is still having trouble adjusting to his newfound celebrity and his unanticipated comeback in a city that once hated him but now loves him.
For the quarterback who fell off his couch, made it to Cleveland, and then made it to the playoffs, everything occurred in a flash.
The soon-to-be 39-year-old Flacco called it “crazy.”
CLEVELAND (AP) — Even after becoming well-known, Joe Flacco is still struggling to adjust to his unexpected return to the city that once despised him but now adores him.
Everything happened so quickly for the quarterback who tumbled off his sofa, traveled to Cleveland, and then advanced to the playoffs.
Flacco, who will soon turn 39, described it as “crazy.”
He scrambled eggs for breakfast, packed school lunches and clumsily tried to braid his daughter’s hair into a ponytail.
Fortunately for the Browns, he kept other skills sharp during an extended, and for Flacco, puzzling layoff from football.
And here he is, having outperformed every other quarterback in the league over a five-game stretch (4-1 as a starter, 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns), leading the Browns—a team he tormented while playing for Baltimore—into the postseason with a Saturday wild-card playoff matchup in Houston.
It’s incredible how quickly a quarterback who defeated the Browns 18-3 can shift from being Cleveland’s archenemy to its hero.
One of the NFL’s most ardent fan bases is licking their lips in anticipation that this could be the season the Browns, one of the four teams to never win the Super Bowl, finally break through.
The flu is spreading.
One of the local sports talk stations is playing a parody song to the Bee Gees’ “Night Fever” that honors the QB’s exploits since he got to Cleveland in November. Last week, a catholic priest at a West Side parish cited Flacco’s unforeseen arrival while giving his sermon during a Mass to celebrate the Epiphany.
Cleveland has embraced Flacco and vice versa.
After completing supper and making their way out of a packed restaurant close to the apartment he rents, Flacco and his family received a surprise one day after he assisted the Browns in securing a postseason berth with a victory over the New York Jets.
“They were all clapping for us and stuff,” Flacco told a small group of reporters last week, almost ashamed. “And I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, what’s happening?'” However, it’s cool. Even though it’s insane, it does make you feel good.
Surreal. Storybook. Incredible.
In addition to being a personal victory, Flacco’s return is just another illustration of the Browns team’s tenacity after they have battled through a deluge of injuries. The season appeared lost when quarterback Deshaun Watson broke his shoulder on November 12 while guiding the Browns to an exciting victory at Baltimore.
Flacco tried out for the Browns on November 17 and signed to the practice squad three days later after the Browns called his agent, Joe Linta.
The rest, well, is among the craziest sporting tales in recent memory.
Flacco was a rifle-armed quarterback without a team prior to all of that. And the MVP of Super Bowl 47 questioned whether he had completed his career as days, weeks, and months passed.
Although he had a strong sense that he could still play well, the stillness in the league made him doubt this.
“It’s difficult because I’m positive that a part of me was wondering what to do next.” stated Flacco, who, in his three seasons as a starter before joining Cleveland, was only 1-8. I think I finished my last game, and after that, a part of myself
was thinking, All right, but you could still play if you could just stay focused.
“It was not under my control. I was only able to ensure that I was prepared in the event that it occurred by doing what I was doing.
Flacco therefore used a youth field close to his house to toss passes to his younger brother, Tom, a college quarterback who played in the CFL, in order to keep in shape. Flacco’s only issue was having to deal with dads’ awkward questions about his sexual orientation when he went out for coffee or picked up the kids from school.
“You get these people who are just like, ‘Oh, man, how’s retirement?'” he remarked. “You truly don’t want to develop a relationship with someone. Thus, there are moments when you just think, “Oh, yeah, man, going good.” Sometimes, though, you’re like, “Well, I’m not really retired.” Yes, I would want to play. Thus, we’ll watch and see.
Everyone looks shocked by what’s transpired, save Flacco, who doesn’t usually exhibit signs of being upset. On December 24, he even tossed three touchdown passes in a 36-22 victory over the Texans.
Alex Van Pelt, the offensive coordinator for the Browns, remarked, “Joe Cool.” “He has visited that place. That’s what he did.
Flacco accomplished everything in 2012, leading the most spectacular postseason run of any quarterback in the modern era. He completed his 1,140-yard pass play with three touchdowns to beat San Francisco in the Super Bowl, along with 11 touchdowns and no picks.
That night in New Orleans, he raised the Lombardi Trophy as confetti dropped, and he can only dream of what it might feel like to hold it once more.
Regarding the idea, he said, “Oh, my God.”
He answered, “If you do let that creep in a little bit.” Then, it would have a great deal of unique qualities. It’s similar to thinking, “Oh man, I can’t love anything really this much,” after having your first child. And after having a second child, you acknowledge that you were mistaken.
That’s probably how it would be somewhat. That one is unique, not that it’s any different from my kids. And if it occurred once more, there would be something particularly exceptional about this one.
