Monday leftovers

It took Kevin Stefanski exactly one game to realize the signing of free-agent quarterback Joe Flacco was not just another desperate move by the Browns after losing Deshaun Watson for the 2023 season.

With many very capable veteran quarterbacks out on the street as this fate-filled season rolled on, the club foolishly, as it turned out, cast their lot with a wet-behind-the-ears rookie and a National FootballLeague vagabond whose career has consistently met with little success.

So when General Manager Andrew Berry finally threw up his hands and finally determined the quarterbacks room had to change and plucked Flacco off the street on Nov. 19, little did he and his head coach realize what a ten strike it would turn out to be.

It took Flacco about 10 days on the practice squad to get himself back into playing shape while Stefanski altered the playbook to better fit his gunslinging style. The head coach had watched him from afar and wisely began catering to his strengths.

It took him one game to realize the Browns' offense was about to dramatically -- and seismically -- change and chart a new course to the postseason, a course that puts the 10-5 Browns one victory away from that goal.

Flacco debuted against the Los Angeles Rams in week 13, the second of back-to-back games out west. For some reason, he seemed to be holding the big quarterback back, sort of feeling out what  and would not work with the new guy.

Stefanski dialed up 44 passes in the 36-19 loss for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns. But he looked good despite the loss. For the first time this season, including Watson's brief stint this season, the Cleveland offense looked sharp.

Flacco's play fakes were executed with exquisite precision, allowing him to complete easy passes as the defenses bit on the fakes. Even though he is on the verge of his 39th birthday, he reminded me a lot of the much younger Joe Flacco who led the Baltimore Ravens to numerous postseasons.

Stefanski obviously saw something that somehow foreshadowed what has happened to this franchise in the last three games, during which Flacco is putting up astonishing statistics that have captured the attention of the NFL.

Since the Rams loss, his production has been otherworldly. In those three games, all victories, he has booked three straight 300-yard games for 1.003 yards, eight touchdowns and seven interceptions. In four games overall, it's 1,257 yards, two more TD and a pick. 

The Browns' first 11 games with three different quarterbacks produced 1,549 yards through the air, nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Flacco has accomplished in seven fewer games nearly as much as three others.

Oh yeah, those interceptions. Flacco is not going to stop throwing them until his receivers run their routes correctly and be where the football is supposed to be. He is a timing quarterback who is often victimized when a route is run incorrectly against a zone defense.

Yes he's made some ill-advised throws if he misreads the defense. But he's savvy enough to quickly make corrections. Amari Cooper, who has become the huge beneficiary of Flacco's new-found success, admires how football smart the quarterback is.

What Flacco and Cooper have put together in the last three games sent a lot of people to the record books. Before Flacco arrived, Cooper had banked 47 receptions for 765 yards and a couple of touchdowns in the first 11 games. Since, he has caught 25 more passes for 485 yards and three scores. 

His record-shattering 11-catch, 265-yard afternoon Sunday in the 36-22 victory over Houston is one record that will stand the test of time.

And with the offensive line getting healthier now with the return of Joel Bitonio and Ethan Pocic and the  possibility of reenergizing a sagging ground game to couple with Flacco's play-action prowess, Thursday night's regular-season home finale against the New York Jets becomes a very winnable game.