Despite his history with the Baltimore Ravens, Joe Flacco didn’t receive backing from his former team during his debut with the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Flacco was a first-round pick of the Ravens in 2008 and played 11 seasons in Baltimore. He helped guide the team to a Super Bowl during the 2013 season, taking home MVP honors in the game.
Flacco is a legend in Baltimore but he’s now the enemy of the franchise he spent more than a decade with. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh made that very clear with his comments on Monday, December 4.
Of course I was rooting against Joe and the Browns,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what we did. I think it’s cool what Joe did. He looked really good but I couldn’t root for him yesterday.
The Browns are chasing the Ravens in the AFC North standings. A win would have tightened up the division race but the Browns’ 36-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday has Cleveland two games back of the Ravens heading into Week 14.
The jab from Harbaugh is all in good fun. He previously wished Flacco the best after he signed with the Browns.
“That’s great for Joe. I saw that Joe said a few times that he wanted to play still and had plenty of juice left,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t doubt Joe. I never doubt Joe. He’s an ultimate competitor. So, we’ll see what happens.”
The Browns won’t see the Ravens again this season unless they face off in the playoffs. They split their season series, with the Browns taking the latest matchup, 33-31.
Flacco completed 23-of-44 passes for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the loss. His lone mistake came at the wrong time in the fourth quarter. With 6:32 left in the game and the Browns down one point, Flacco threw up a deep ball looking for Elijah Moore. He was picked off by Rams safety John Johnson III, who returned it deep into Browns’ territory. The Rams flipped the turnover into a touchdown just a few plays later.
“Yeah, I’m just upset at myself,” Flacco said after the game. “Listen, I know I can play. I think every time you go 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.
