CLEVELAND, Ohio — Joe Flacco is both the Browns’ temporary salvation and their biggest liability. The 40-year-old quarterback was brought in to provide veteran stability, but his gunslinger mentality is putting Cleveland in increasingly difficult positions as they prepare to face the undefeated Green Bay Packers.
The numbers tell a disturbing story. As Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot pointed out on the Orange and Brown Talk podcast, “If you add it up now, he’s turned the ball over 13 times in his last six games. In his last six starts. 13 times in his last six starts. That includes nine in his last four starts in Indianapolis. That is not going to fly in this Cleveland Browns offense with Kevin Stefanski.”
This turnover rate has become the elephant in the room for a Browns team that has no margin for error. Against Baltimore, Flacco’s high-risk approach was on full display with an interception that Cabot described in painful detail: “He’s on the run, he’s getting flushed to the right, he looks downfield, he sees David (Njoku) double covered and thinks he’s got a shot to win that play and he didn’t have a shot to win that play and he should have thrown that one away.”
This “hero ball” mentality stands in stark contrast to the conservative, mistake-free approach that head coach Kevin Stefanski typically demands from his offense.
The podcast discussion highlighted a critical factor exacerbating Flacco’s turnover issues: the complete absence of a reliable running game. Without the ability to create yards, the Browns are putting unreasonable pressure on their aging quarterback.
“Because of that, Joe Flacco is being forced to throw the ball more than you want your 40-year-old quarterback throwing the football. He’s thrown it 90 times, which I think is a league high right now,” Cabot explained. “You are setting him up for some of those mistakes because even if you are 100% on point, somebody on the receiving end is going to drop a pass here and there.”
This Sunday against Green Bay presents an even more daunting challenge. The Packers defense has already accumulated eight sacks and 21 quarterback hits this season while completely shutting down the running games of both Detroit and Washington. Their defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley (a former Browns secondary coach), brings a unit that creates pressure from multiple angles.
Film analyst Lance Reisland noted on the podcast that Flacco appears particularly vulnerable when forced off his spot. “When they get Joe off his spot, it’s not necessarily a scramble, it’s not a sack, but just off his spot, he is really struggling getting his fundamentals back in order,” Reisland observed.
The Browns now face a difficult balancing act: they need Flacco’s experience and arm talent, but they must somehow rein in his most dangerous tendencies. As Cabot noted, “They’re putting too much responsibility on Joe in the passing game. What they need to do this week, if they possibly can, and it’s not going to be easy, is to try to run the ball and try to stick with it even if it takes some time to get it rolling.”
For Cleveland to have any chance against Green Bay, Flacco must embrace a philosophy he resisted against Baltimore: sometimes you need to “live to see another day” rather than force a play that isn’t there.
Will the Browns finally establish a running game to take pressure off their quarterback? Can Flacco resist the urge to play hero ball? The answers might determine whether Cleveland can avoid an 0-3 start that would effectively end their playoff hopes before October.
Here’s today’s podcast:
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