BEREA, Ohio — It might not be called an ‘Air Raid’ offense, but it is hard to believe that since quarterback Joe Flacco has arrived on the scene with the Cleveland Browns on Nov. 20 as a member of the practice squad that Flacco would accomplish what he has with the Browns.

In his first three games Flacco has thrown the ball 133 times, completing 77 passes for 939 yards (57.9 pct.). Flacco has averaged throwing over 44 passes a game since he took over at quarterback against the Rams. He is 2-1 as a starter with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s been sacked seven times and has a rating of 81.6.

Flacco has been putting up numbers that have not been seen in a Browns uniform at quarterback in many, many years, if ever. His 939 yards passing in his first three games is the most ever by a Browns quarterback, eclipsing the mark previously set by Baker Mayfield in 2018 with 875 yards. Prior to that, Jeff Garcia had 822 yards in his first three games with the Browns in 2004.

In addition, Flacco’s three touchdown passes last Sunday gave him seven in his first three games, which tied him with Vinny Testaverde for the most in franchise history through three games. Testaverde threw seven touchdowns in his first three games in 1994.

Last Sunday agains the Bears, Flacco had a poor first three quarters where he was just 17-of-31 for 162 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. However, he came alive in the fourth quarter and was 11-of-13 for 212 yards and a 144.4 rating. In four, fourth quarter possessions, Flacco led the Browns to three scoring drives, two field goals and a touchdown. His final drive was for the game-winning, 34-yard field goal by kicker Dustin Hopkins with just 32 seconds to play.

Flacco’s 212 passing yards in the fourth quarter were the most by any Browns quarterback in any quarter over the last 45 seasons, according to ESPN Stats Info.

Flacco (6-6, 245) is in his 16th NFL after originally, being a first-round pick by the Ravens in 2008, Flacco came to the Browns having appeared in 183 games with 180 starts in stints with the Ravens (2008-18), Broncos (2019) and Jets (2020-22). He has completed 3,881 of 6,299 career passes (61.6 percent) with 232 touchdowns and 147 interceptions.

His record as a starter was 99-81 (.550) record, when he joined the Browns. He is now 101-82 as a starter. Flacco led the Ravens to a victory in Super Bowl XLVII, while being named the Super Bowl MVP. Most recently, he started four games with the Jets in 2022.

In his career, Flacco has now thrown for 43,259 yards.

Jerome Ford said that Flacco has brought a calming influence to the Browns with his vast NFL experience.

“He’s great,” Ford said. “It’s been fun, honestly, playing with him and just watching him work. You see the passes that he makes. And every time he makes a pass like that, you see him fired up. Usually outside of that, he’s a calm, cool dude. Really chill. No real panic.

“He’s always like, the best way I can explain it is everything could be exploding around him, and you’ll just see him sitting there calm, trying to get everything together and figure stuff out,” he said. “No panic at all. And I feel like it kind of just helps us and we feed off of it. And seeing him calm in tough situations, it helps us remain calm in situations.”

Despite the Browns rushing game dropping off in recent games, the Browns have been able to be successful in throwing the ball due to the fact that Flacco does such a good job in the play action game, according to Kevin Stefanski.

“Yeah, without a doubt,” Stefanski said. “I think oftentimes, when you’re talking about the marriage or the run and the pass, when you’re talking about wide zone run game, that certainly opens up the keeper game and play actions. So that’s something that Joe is adept at. You can do it from under center, you can do it from the gun, but he’s always done a nice job of that.”

Flacco, who will turn 39-years old on January 16,  thinks he is best when he’s on the move.

“I always think it helps when we can facilitate getting me on the move and stuff like that,” Flacco said on Wednesday. “I know it’s not a huge part of my game, but I am playing my best when I’m able to move around a little bit, move the pocket here and there and then some of the other things just kind of happen naturally. But I do think it’s important for the whole offense when you have that, the ability to do a couple of those things throughout the course of the game.”

Flacco is expected to make his fourth-straight start on Sunday, Christmas Eve, against the Texans with a lot riding on the game. Flacco said the offense is gaining confidence.

“I think there’s some confidence that is going to be the direction, but it really just takes us being in the moment and coming in here and doing our work and all those things and then actually going out on game day and coming through,” Flacco said. “So I think what we’ve done so far I think can give us the confidence to feel that’s the way it should go, but it’s still up to us to kind of, like I said, stay in the moment, look at what’s important now and go do the job.”

Extra Points

Bitonio Improving, Four Miss Practice, Two Return: Browns Pro Bowl G Joel Bitonio had to leave last Sunday’s game in the first quarter with a lower back injury. Stefanski termed Bitonio as ‘day-to-day’ on Monday, but there was hope that he would be able to return to the field this Sunday against the Texans.

“No real updates, I think with all of our guys day-today, literally means you see how they walk in the building and check in with them and how they do through their treatment every single day and make a decision based on how that is each day,” Stefanski said. “That’s kind of what we’re doing with Joel.”

Bitonio was one of four players that were listed as ‘did not practice’ on the pre-practice injury report on Wednesday.

Bitonio was walking around with children at his annual ‘Shop with a Pro’ event at Meijer’s in Avon on Tuesday night and briefly spoke to WEWS.

“It’s feeling better today,” Bitonio said. “I’m making progress. Unfortunate I couldn’t finish the game, but those guys stepped up and I’m making progress.”

Besides Bitonio, the Browns are hoping to get some of their injured players back this week. LB Anthony Walker (knee), S Juan Thornhill (calf), LB Jordan Kunaszyk (calf), Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (torn pec), C Ethan Pocic (stinger) all missed last week’s game with the Bears.

However, Walker and Pocic were not listed on the injury report on Wednesday as not practicing, while Bitonio, Thornhill, Okoronkwo and Kunaszyk were.

Thornhill has missed the last two games, while Ogbonnia is not expected to play this week.

Stefansk was also asked about Okoronkwo.

“Still working through all of it,” he said. “Obviously, we haven’t put him on IR just yet, so those are things that we’re working through.”

Stefanski was asked about Thornhill.

“Yeah, getting closer, but we’ll see how it goes this week.”

Walker was asked hs knee is doing.

“Just a little tweak as Kevin said,” Walker said on Wednesday. “I’m good. I’ll be good. I’ll be okay.”

Uncertainty at QB: There has obviously, been uncertainty all season around the Browns quarterbacks with four different starters, but there is also uncertainty surrounding the Browns opponent this week as reports out of Houston are saying that the Texans are preparing former Browns backup QB Case Keenum to start against the Browns as rookie QB C.J. Stroud remains in the concussion protocol.

Stefanski said the the Browns are preparing for all of the Texans quarterbacks.

“We prepare for all of their quarterbacks,” he said. “I think you have to do that in this league, so we’ll monitor that like everybody else does, but you have to prepare for all their guys and the truth is all their guys can beat you. They’ve all won. I think CJ Stroud’s having as good a year as there is that position for rookies doesn’t not look like a rookie, the way he plays the decision-making the physical talent is off the charts and then case comes in last week, starts and wins. That’s what he does. He’s played a lot of football games in his career, started a lot of football games in his career has won, so we know the type of talent that he has as well.”

Keenum was 2-0 in his starts for the Browns in 2021 and was 23-of-36 for 229 yards (63.9 pct.), with one touchdown and one interception and a rating of 79.5, in his first appearance of the season. In his first start last week, Keenum was 15-of-23 for 120 yards and an interception through three quarters, but led the Texans to a 19-16 overtime win over the Titans.

Last year’s starter, Davis Mills, is also a possibility.

The Texans signed QB Tim Boyle to their practice squad after trying to claim QB Nathan Rourke on waivers, earlier in the week.

Stroud has thrown for 3,631 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions as a rookie with a rating of 98.7. He has been sacked 35 times.

After Sunday’s game with the Texans, the Browns remaining two games will be against backup quarterbacks as Jets’ QB Aaron Rodgers said he will not play again this season after suffering an Achilles’ tendon injury and QB Joe Burrow is out after wrist surgery. QB Zach Wilson and QB Jake Browning are expected to start for the Jets and the Bengals.

Playoffs, Playoffs?: The Browns have an outside chance to clinch a playoff berth this weekend, but it starts with a win over the Texans. If that happens, there is a lot of things that have to happen. The NFL put all of the scenarios out and it is embedded above in a post on X.

The OBR’s Jack Duffin puts out a ‘Rooting Guide’ each week, but it looks as though it would help the Browns if the Steelers (7-7) lose or tie to the Bengals (8-6) on Saturday in Pittsburgh. A loss by the Bills (8-6) and/or a loss by the Broncos (7-7). The Bills play at the Chargers (5-9) in Los Angeles on Saturday night. The Broncos hosts the Patriots (3-11) on Sunday night.

Due to the there being four teams with 8-6 records and two teams with 7-7 records, tiebreakers could come into play.

No Practice Wednesday: The Browns did not practice on Wednesday, but held a walk through practice, so there was no availability for reporters to watch or report on Wednesday’s activities. The Browns host the Jets on Dec. 28 on Thursday Night Football, so with Christmas on Monday, the Browns changed up their schedule on Wednesday.

Stefanski was asked why the team was not practicing on Wednesday.

Yeah, late in the season,” he said. “We had an early bye week. We have a Thursday night game next week, so just trying to account for all those things.”

The Browns return to a normal practice schedule on Thursday and will travel to Houston to play the Texans on Sunday at 1 pm.

Winner of Browns and Texans Should be Coach of the Year

The game between the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans will have a dramatic impact on the postseason race within the AFC, but the winning head coach should also be the NFL’s coach of the year for 2023.

The Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans will face off in a game with major playoff implications. Both teams have a shot at winning their division and could still miss the playoffs. And while it’s the furthest thing from the minds of Kevin Stefanski and DeMeco Ryans, the winning head coach should win the NFL’s Coach of the Year.

Ryans and the Texans have far surpassed expectations. Frankly, I expected them to be one of the worst teams in the league, making the blockbuster trade they made with the Arizona Cardinals, where they dealt a bunch of picks that ultimately netted them Will Anderson, look incredibly foolish. The Cardinals could still make that deal look terrible, but the Texans have spent most of the season making people like me look stupid.

The Texans could win the AFC South. C.J. Stroud looks like a star at quarterback. Will Anderson is an impact player on the defensive side of the ball. Several players they’ve drafted to the roster over the last couple of seasons are flourishing, such as corner Derek Stingley, wide receivers Nico Collins and Tank Dell, and edge rusher Jonathan Greenard.

And then several of the veterans they’ve added to plug gaps have been great for them this year. Tight end Dalton Schultz, corner Steven Nelson and safety Jimmie Ward have all had strong years. Defensive tackles Maliek Collin and Sheldon Rankins have been effective in rushing the passer from the interior, giving them a dynamic front.

The Texans are currently 8-6, tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts atop the AFC South. A win against the Browns would not only mean they stay in first in the division but ensure a winning record on the season. That would be a 6-win improvement from last year’s 3-13-1 finish with two games to go. The AFC South is a relatively weak division, but the AFC is a brutal conference, and anyone able to make the postseason has definitely earned it.

Meanwhile, Kevin Stefanski is leading a team Browns fans expected to be good. Playoffs were an expectation, with plenty demanding he be fired if the team didn’t get there. Even when the team won games, some people in Cleveland still demanded his ouster.

But even at their healthiest, there were plenty of national prognosticators who had the Browns finishing out of the playoffs, even at the bottom of the AFC North. Not only have the Browns outperformed those expectations, they’ve done it in a season defined by adversity. The Browns were written off when running back Nick Chubb went down for the season. They kept winning, and then their quarterback Deshaun Watson was announced out for the year; the team was once again supposed to be dead this year.

The injuries haven’t stopped, but the Browns keep winning. Now, at 9-5, they have a shot, albeit not a great one, to win what is widely considered the best division in football. Some critics are quick to point out that the defense is the primary reason for the Browns success. That’s true, but even if Stefanski is as offensive coach, he is still the head coach of the team. Plus, many of the most memorable moments this season are critical plays from the offense in clutch moments, with four different quarterbacks and a dozen different offensive linemen.

The argument that may be used against Stefanski for coach of the year is that he won it in 2020. But what’s worth considering is that if the Browns beat the Texans, Stefanski and the Browns will have defeated just about every head coach on their schedule in the running for coach of the year.

The Browns beat Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers, the overwhelming favorite to win the Super Bowl, with P.J. Walker at quarterback.
The Browns beat Shane Steichen and the Colts. Again, with Walker at quarterback.
The Browns split with the Baltimore Ravens. They came back from a 14-point deficit and beat the Ravens on the road.
The Browns smoked Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals to open the season. They will have their rematch in week 18 in Cincinnati.

There are three outstanding coaches in this group, and a limited Browns team defeated them all.

The Browns don’t play either the Miami Dolphins or Detroit Lions unless they were to face them in the postseason. There’s a world in which the Browns and Lions face off in the Super Bowl. The NFL should eliminate the Super Bowl bye week because we’d be in a race against time with the coming apocalypse.

If the Browns beat the Texans, half of the team’s victories would have come against candidates for coach of the year in addition to virtually guaranteeing them a spot in the postseason. Between that and the adversity the Browns have faced, it should be a compelling argument for Stefanski to win the award a second time.

Whoever wins this game, that head coach should be the NFL’s coach of the year.