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There are questions that men have pondered for years. Why do we exist? Are hot dogs a sandwich? And, is Joe Flacco elite.
After a standout performance for the Browns, Joe Flacco is elite, according to superstar defensive end Myles Garrett.
Immediately after the game, I asked Myles Garrett on the field about #Browns QB Joe Flacco…
Garrett smiled and said:
“He’s elite.”
— Kimberley A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) December 10, 2023
Flacco was 26/45 for 311 yards and 3 touchdowns with one interception in Sunday’s crucial 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. That’s a huge win for the Browns, who now sit at 8-5 and are comfortably in a wild card spot in the AFC. That’s impressive, considering they’re on to their fourth quarterback this year. Deshaun Watson and Dorian Thompson-Robinson are both injured, and the team waived PJ Walker. Star running back Nick Chubb was also lost for the season early in the year.
Flacco came from off of his couch and was signed by the Browns on November 20. I don’t think anyone thought he would play as well as he has. Through two games he has 565 yards and 5 touchdowns to go along with 2 interceptions as the Cleveland has gone 1-1. Yes, the completion percentage is low at 55.1%, but they could tick up as he develops more chemistry with his wide receivers.
The “is Joe Flacco Elite?” debate has been going on for years, and it became a meme. The Super Bowl champion was always a pretty good quarterback in his prime for the Baltimore Ravens. There’s no doubt he had an elite postseason following the 2012 season when the Ravens won the Super Bowl, and he was named Super Bowl MVP. After that, countless debates occurred online if he was an elite quarterback or not, and it’s become tongue-in-cheek.
The career stats don’t bear out to be elite, though. Flacco has a career passer rating of 84 and a TD:INT ratio of 237-149.
That doesn’t matter to Browns fans, who are hoping the Joe Flacco is the right guy at the right time.