One week after signing veteran Super Bowl winning QB Joe Flacco, the Cleveland Browns will rely on him to start. Flacco signed to the Brown practice Squad last week after Deshaun Watson went out for the year with a shoulder injury. The Browns started rookie Quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson who suffered a concussion and was unable to clear the protocol before the week 13 match against the Rams. Instead of going with PJ Walker who has 3 starts this year, the Browns decided Joe Flacco is their guy.

Flacco will see his first game action this year, and first start since week 18 last year with the New York Jets. Flacco started 4 games last year with the Jets, he went 1-3 with his 1 win ironically coming against the Browns in week 2. That win was by far the best game Flacco played, he threw 44 times completing 26 passes for 307 yards and an impressive 4 TDs in a 31-30 win. Flacco threw the game winning TD to Garrett Wilson in that game with 22 seconds left.

The Browns are hoping Flacco can recapture some of that magic for them this time around. When Flacco got his starts last year, Browns WR Elijah Moore was on still on the Jets. Moore earned 22 targets in the 4 games Flacco started, showing a decent connection with Flacco in a really poor year. The Jets threw the ball at an absurd rate with Flacco as he totaled 188 attempts in 4 starts. Don’t expect Flacco to average 47 pass attempts a game, but the Browns have not been shy with the pass attempts with their backup Quarterbacks in the game. DTR has a total of 118 pass attempts in his 3 starts, so Flacco will be in line for a big pass attempt game against the Jaguars. This bodes well for Amari Cooper, Elijah Moore and David Njoku who have soaked up the targets in the Browns passing attack all year. Flacco being a veteran will be more efficient than DTR or PJ Walker, making Amari Cooper a better start than he has been the last 2 weeks. With the TE landscape the way it is, Njoku remains a top 5 TE option this week.