Odds Show Joe Flacco Has Thrown A Major Twist Into The Comeback Player Of The Year Race

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On Thursday, the Cleveland Browns punched their ticket to the postseason thanks in no small part to Joe Flacco, who has more than risen to the occasion since he was signed by a team that seemingly had no business being in playoff contention after losing DeShaun Watson and Dorian Thompson-Robinson to injury.

Now, he’s emerged as one of the top candidates for the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

At the start of the season, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Damar Hamlin would end up walking away with that particular honor. After all, we’re talking about a guy who was able to bounce back from having his heart stop on the field after he was involved in the terrifying incident that unfolded when the Bills and the Bengals faced off last year.

However, Flacco has put voters in an interesting position based on how he’s played since he was signed by the Browns last month. The 38-year-old has gone 4-1 as a starter in Cleveland while looking very much like an Elite quarterback, and it’s very hard not to be impressed by his midseason comeback.

Sportsbooks have taken notice, as he’s slowly but surely closed in on Hamlin on the odds front as we near the end of the regular season.

It’s worth taking a look at the criteria for Comeback Player of the Year, which is awarded to a player who:

“overcomes adversity to return to remarkable performance, in the form of not being in the NFL the previous year, a severe injury, or simply poor performance.”

Now, Hamlin has only appeared in five games for the Bills while recording a grand total of two tackles, and it would certainly be a stretch to describe that as a “remarkable performance.” However—and it’s hard to stress this enough—we’re talking about a guy who almost died on the gridiron, which certainly fits the definition of “adversity.”

I also think it would be a stretch to say Flacco faced any real adversity unless we’re arguing that “playing quarterback for the New York Jets” is enough to check that particular box. Has he been “remarkable” this season? Absolutely, but if we’re being sticklers for the aforementioned qualifications, his candidacy seems a bit weak.

I’d personally be shocked if Hamlin doesn’t win Comeback Player of the Year when everything is said and done, but voters will certainly face a tough choice in what is shaping up to be one of the tightest races in recent memory.