Browns QB Joe Flacco Could Break This NFL Playoff Record vs. Texans
Flacco could surpass Tom Brady for this playoff record if the Browns win in Houston
It’s been nearly a decade since Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco last played in a playoff game — the last time the 38-year-old pass-thrower performed in the postseason was on Jan. 10, 2015, when his Baltimore Ravens fell to the New England Patriots.
But don’t let the long stretch of time that has separated Flacco from his last playoff start to his next one Saturday in Houston cloud a potential record that will become a reality if the Browns win.
If Flacco wins, he’ll become the best road playoff quarterback of all time.
Yes — the best. Flacco is chasing his eighth road playoff win in the Browns’ Wild Card Round matchup against the Texans, which would move him ahead of seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady for most ever by an NFL quarterback.
Flacco’s road playoff record, all compiled of games played with the Ravens from 2008-18, is 7-5. He’s almost exclusively been a visitor in the playoffs and has played at home just twice in the postseason, which partially explains why he’s tied with a quarterback as successful as Brady in road playoff success.
“Anytime you get to be in the playoffs and win football games, there’s some part of you that takes pride in that, no matter where it is,” Flacco told reporters Tuesday. “This is what we go to work for every day — to be in this position and to play these types of games. I think we should all hold our heads high. We earned the right to be playing this Saturday, and you should gain something from it. Once you lace them up and once you’re out in the field, none of that matters.”
Flacco has rattled off consecutive road playoff wins twice in his career, first doing so as a rookie in 2009 and again in 2013, the year the Ravens won the Super Bowl. Flacco captained Baltimore to wins over the Broncos — a game dubbed the Mile High Miracle — and the Brady-led Patriots to clinch a Super Bowl appearance, which turned into a Lombardi Trophy for the Ravens.
The success Flacco has had in his short but unforgettable time with the Browns has mirrored those performances. He’s gone 4-1 since stepping in as the starter on Dec. 3 and has topped 300 passing yards in his last four starts, which have all been wins.
His remarkable comeback has catapulted the Browns into becoming the best story in the league entering the playoffs, and the Browns will almost certainly need Flacco to not only break the road playoff wins record, but construct another winning streak of road wins to keep it alive.
As the No. 5 seed, Cleveland has only a small chance of hosting a playoff game back at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Their playoff journey will likely veer through Baltimore, Buffalo or Kansas City if the Browns manage to win this week.
But after surging the Browns into the playoffs in one of the most improbable comebacks the NFL has ever seen, Flacco appears to have the juice to keep Cleveland rolling on the road.
