Report: Kevin Stefanski have found the perfect QB to replace Watson

                In A Loss, Browns Found Their Starting QB For Remainder Of The Season

Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt wasn’t lying – Joe Flacco’s arm is still elite. That became evident on the opening

drive of the game as Flacco made a couple tight window throws to Amari Cooper and ultimately found running back Jerome Ford for a 24-yard touchdown. It was a the most picture perfect start you could have dreamed up for the 38-year-old signal caller, who until two weeks ago was watching NFL games from his couch. But the itch to play football brought him to Cleveland, a team desperate for quarterback stability after being ravaged by injuries most of the season. He believes he still has something to give the game. Something left in the tank. If there’s any solace to be found in a 36-19 loss to the Rams, it’s that Flacco at least proved that.

“I know I can play,” Flacco said of his performance. “I think anytime you take the field you’re obviously proving to yourself and proving to other people that you can play the game. But deep down I know I can play the game so that’s not my thought process at this point. “These are the games I honestly love to be in. They come down to the fourth quarter and they’re not pretty and they’re gonna be tight. I think I excel in the games that are playe tight and need to have good decisions be made. So to not come through in that situation, it stings a little bit.” From the couch to the field, Flacco racked up 254 yards passing, on 23-of-44 passing. He tossed two touchdowns and for long stretches of time had the offense really humming up and down the field.

Unfortunately, an untimely, fourth-quarter interception with 6:32 to go in the game and Cleveland down just a single point, 20-19 will overshadow the overall performance. It did wind up serving as a turning point that sparked an avalanche of Rams scoring that ensued. Los Angeles ended the game on a 16-0 run over the final four minutes of play.

“They matched everybody up and I was in the pocket a long time,” Flacco said of the play. “It ultimately was a bad decision.” It wasn’t ideal, but it also shouldn’t define Flacco’s day. For a team that has navigated a revolving door of quarterbacks this season to be 7-5, Flacco provided some much needed stability, poise and rhythm. Each and every Browns scoring drive was seven plays or longer and covered 58 yards or more. The second half scoring drives were 15 and 13 plays respectively, chewing up more than 14 minutes in the process. Flacco’s mere presence also seemed to bring more structure from the savvy offensive mind that is Kevin Stefanski. Sunday’s game plan featured a lot of handing the ball off to set up play-action and shotgun sets, allowing the 16-year vet to scan the field and spread the ball around. Nine different players caught a pass from Flacco – tied for most in a single game this season.

It was simple. It was straightforward. And for most of the game it had Cleveland in perfect position to win the game. “He did some really good things today,” Stefanski said. “Put us in position. We gotta come away with points in that red zone.” There was a sense that Stefanski knew he could trust Flacco to run his offense effectively, without the need for any gimmicky reverse plays and overthinking things. Flacco proved him right, aside from the interception where he got a little greedy trying to take a deep shot on play action.

The stability Flacco provided the offense was undeniable. It’s something that side of the ball has been looking for all season. Now that they have it, they can’t possibly go back to Dorian Thompson-Robinson and all the unknowns a rookie quarterback learning on the fly can bring.