Joe Flacco leads Browns to just third playoff berth since 1999،
CLEVELAND — Chants of “Fla-cco, Fla-cco” rang out from the crowd Thursday night as the Cleveland Browns officially punched their ticket to the playoffs — and the celebration in the stands then continued into the locker room.
Led by quarterback Joe Flacco, the Browns (11-5) beat the New York Jets 37-20 to earn their first playoff appearance since 2020, and only their third since 1999.
“It’s a pretty special night for this organization,” Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski said. “A pretty special evening for the fans.”
Faced with an electric atmosphere, the Browns rushed to New York very early and never gave up control. Flacco threw three touchdown passes in the first half, including a 7-yard strike to running back Jerome Ford on the first drive.
Flacco passed for 296 yards in the first half, the most in a half of his career, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Flacco has now thrown for over 300 yards in every win during Cleveland's four-game winning streak.
“It's obviously a very unique situation for me, so a lot of different emotions are going through my head,” said Flacco, who is the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 250 yards. passing and several passing touchdowns in each game. his first five games with a new franchise. “The city has been so amazing… You can tell they love football, and it’s special to go there and play for them.”
Six weeks ago, Flacco didn't even have a team.
He went unsigned during the offseason, after spending the last three seasons with the Jets, and remained without a contract until Cleveland added him to its practice squad on November 20 following a season-ending shoulder injury to starting quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Now Flacco, who turns 39 next month, is leading this team into the playoffs.
“Everyone was always joking, even in Baltimore, was he elite?” Jets linebacker CJ Mosley said of Flacco, who won the Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2012. “He shows it. Not a lot of guys, especially veterans like him and his age, just coming from home, hanging out with their kids, doing whatever. he finished. I told him after the game that it was crazy to hear Browns fans yelling “Flacco!” “It was pretty crazy for me, but I'm happy for him. Obviously we wanted to get the win, but as a friend, as a fan, I'm really happy for him.
Since returning to the NFL in 1999, the Browns have only made the playoffs in 2002 and 2020. But when Cleveland clinched its playoff berth in the regular season finale at home three years ago , its stadium was largely empty due to COVID-19. 19 pandemic.
Thursday's scene was completely different, as Browns fans arrived early and stayed late, well after the final whistle.
“It meant everything, man,” said tight end David Njoku, who finished with a game-high 134 receiving yards on six catches. “This team is resilient as fuck, excuse my language. … There was so much adversity this year. But we overcame it. I'm so proud of these guys. But we're not done.”
Despite losing several key players, including Watson and All-Pro running back Nick Chubb (knee) to season-ending injuries, the Browns are alone among the fifth seed in the AFC playoffs . Cleveland also remains alive for the AFC North division title, as well as first place overall and the first-round playoff bye.
“It’s nice to be in the playoffs,” running back Kareem Hunt said. “But now we're not only trying to make the playoffs, but we're trying to go all the way.”
ESPN's Rich Cimini contributed to this report.
