{"id":79145,"date":"2024-01-10T05:00:19","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T05:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=79145"},"modified":"2024-01-10T05:00:19","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T05:00:19","slug":"browns-give-6-word-statement-on-qb-situation-for-playoffs-kieu-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/browns-give-6-word-statement-on-qb-situation-for-playoffs-kieu-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"Browns Give 6-Word Statement on QB Situation for Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0are still undecided on who will backup\u00a0Joe Flacco\u00a0as they kick off the postseason against the\u00a0Houston Texans.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1915321229-1-e1704831994893.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Cleveland Browns head coach is still sorting out of PJ Walker or Jeff Driskel will backup Joe Flacco.\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Browns have started five different players under center this season with $230 million franchise QB\u00a0Deshaun Watson\u00a0dealing with injuries. Watson missed\u00a0all but one quarter\u00a0during a four-game stretch early in the season. He recently had surgery for a separate shoulder issue,\u00a0knocking him out for the year.<\/p>\n<p>Flacco has been a lottery ticket for the Browns. The 38-year-old has turned back the clock and has been one of the\u00a0best quarterbacks in the league\u00a0since taking over on December 3.<\/p>\n<p>The question now is who will back him up. Rookie\u00a0Dorian Thompson-Robinson\u00a0held the duty but landed on\u00a0injured reserve with a hip injury. The decision comes down to Jeff Driskel or PJ Walker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re working through that,\u201d\u00a0Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Tuesday, January 9.<\/p>\n<h2>Jeff Driskel, PJ Walker Have Struggled as Browns Starter<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4662064\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-4662064 visible\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1915189509-1-e1704832898159.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Jeff Driskel started the season finale for the Browns against the Bengals but many of the starters didn't play.\" width=\"782\" height=\"441\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4662064\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1915189509-1-e1704832898159.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s not the most crucial decision ahead of a playoff matchup. However, it\u2019s a potentially consequential one considering the Browns\u2019 injury luck this year.<\/p>\n<p>Driskel started on January 7 and had a rough go without many of the Browns starters at his disposal. He finished the game with 166 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The Browns lost 31-14 and Driskel made no excuses after the game.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a hard league, but there\u2019s no excuses,\u201d Driskel said. \u201cYou just got to go out there and figure out a way to get it done and we didn\u2019t get it done today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walker has seen time as the starter this year but struggled with turnovers. He\u00a0tossed 5 interceptions to 1 touchdown and posted a QB rating of 52.2. Both are currently on the active roster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Browns QB Joe Flacco Brings Playoff Experience<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_4662063\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-4662063 visible\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1891361737-1-e1704832944918.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" alt=\"Cleveland Browns QB Joe Flacco boasts the second most road playoff wins in NFL history.\" width=\"782\" height=\"441\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4662063\" data-lazy-load=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/GettyImages-1891361737-1-e1704832944918.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=782\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The reality for the Browns is that if Flacco goes down, their playoff hopes will be nearly extinguished. In five games Flacco has passed for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He\u2019s posted a QB rating of 90.2 and is 4-1 in his starts.<\/p>\n<p>He also comes with heaps of playoff experience. Flacco won a Super Bowl with the\u00a0Baltimore Ravens\u00a0during the 2012 season and was named the MVP of the game. He also boasts the second-most road playoff wins in NFL history,\u00a0behind only Tom Brady.<\/p>\n<p>The Browns are the No. 5 seed and begin their playoff journey on the road against the Texans on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it just goes back to doing the basics the right way,\u201d\u00a0Flacco said on Tuesday, January 9. \u201cNot overthinking what it means to go on the road, just going and playing a good football game. And when the dust settles, like I said, you pick your head up and see where you are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Browns were hit hard by the injury bug this season, with an NFL-high 26% of their cap space on IR. The Browns could have folded but Flacco has seen it galvanize the group.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt always helps to go through tough times and truly be tested, whether that\u2019s injuries or close games \u2013 finding your identity, things like that, they all help,\u201d Flacco said.<\/p>\n<p>Flacco and the Browns opened as a 1.5-point favorite for the Wild Card matchup against the Texans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0are still undecided on who will backup\u00a0Joe Flacco\u00a0as they kick off the postseason against the\u00a0Houston Texans. The Browns have started five different players under center this&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}