Joe Flacco: the face of a new franchise.
The 38-year-old quarterback didn’t look out of place as he stepped in for the Cleveland Browns, starting for the second week in a row and getting his first win of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Flacco completed 26-of-45 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns, putting the Browns at 8-5 and second in the AFC North.
Cleveland’s quarterback room has been through the wringer this season. They lost Deshaun Watson to a season-ending injury, rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson was injured against the Rams, and veteran backup P.J. Walker was not the answer to help the Browns en route to the playoffs.
But Flacco, who was on his couch watching football three weeks ago, was signed to the Browns practice squad and then put into action just last week. While his first start may have been a loss, his second saw him throw two early touchdowns to give the Browns a comfortable lead.
Even when the Jaguars clawed back, Flacco made veteran plays, including converting a fourth-and-three in the fourth quarter as shaky coverage left receiver David Bell wide open over the middle where Flacco found him for a 41-yard touchdown.
The confidence the Browns had with their passing game with Flacco under centre earned him the starting nod from head coach Kevin Stefanski for the rest of the season.
Here are the other top stories from Sunday’s daytime slate.
Jets deliver statement win over surging Texans
In a more than forgettable season for the Jets, and after two weeks of Tim Boyle, the team decided to return to Zach Wilson as their starter with truly nothing to lose.
But instead of seeing the Wilson who has appeared in many contests over the course of 2023, he instead looked like one of the most competent and confident versions of himself, throwing for 301 yards and two touchdowns, the third 300-yard passing game of his career.
And more importantly, no interceptions.
Heading into halftime, the game was tied 0-0 and looked to be heading toward another forgettable game for the quarterback.
But in the third quarter, Wilson made back-to-back drive-saving plays: The first a third-and-twelve conversion rolling to his left to find Garrett Wilson for the first down, then connecting with Randall Cobb for a 15-yard touchdown, the Jets’ first touchdown in two weeks.
Wilson threw another touchdown, this time for three yards to Breece Hall, to put the Jets up 21-6 before Greg Zuerlein added three fourth-quarter field goals to secure the 30-6 win.
Credit where credit is due, the Jets also have one of the best defences in the league and flustered rookie quarterback CJ Stroud, who — without Nico Collins, Tank Dell or Dalton Schultz — went 10-for-23 with 91 yards before exiting the game in the fourth quarter with an apparent concussion after his head hit the turf.
Defensively, the Jets held the Texans to just 135 total yards as they went 1-for-12 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down in their worst offensive performance of the season.
Ravens’ walk-off overtime win keeps No. 1 seed hopes alive
Most weeks, watching Lamar Jackson is the best show in football. Sunday’s overtime thriller against the Los Angeles Rams was no exception.
Jackson threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns, including a go-ahead score to Zay Flowers on third-and-long from the Rams’ 21-yard line with 1:41 remaining in the fourth.
Jackson dropped deep and found Flowers for the rocket, which was followed by a two-point conversion for a 31-28 lead before the Rams kicked a field goal to send the game to overtime.
Baltimore and Los Angeles took turns going ahead as the game saw seven lead changes including four times on four consecutive possessions in the first half.
Jackson’s first show of the day was a throw to tight end Isaiah Likely for a 54-yard touchdown to give Baltimore a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. He found Odell Beckham Jr. for a 46-yard touchdown early in the second. Jackson also added 70 yards rushing, boosting his case in the MVP race.
The walk-off hero however was Tylan Wallace, as he sealed the 37-31 victory with a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown that ended the game in overtime. The Ravens sit atop the AFC at 10-3 as they look to secure their spot as the conference’s No. 1 seed going into the playoffs.
Bears defence keeps Lions at bay in win
The Chicago Bears have seen glimpses of greatness this season, but their victory over the Detroit Lions may be one of their best showings yet, winning back-to-back games for the first time since 2021.
And while of course Justin Fields will get the credit as he threw for 223 yards and a touchdown while running in another and adding 58 yards on the ground, multiple key players rallied to beat the NFC North-leading Lions 28-13.
D.J. Moore had his first career rushing touchdown, picked up 20 yards on the ground and also caught a pass for a touchdown while adding 68 yards receiving.
Chicago’s defence was the real winner of the game, however. Safety Jaquan Brisker led the way as he made 17 tackles while the defence as a whole intercepted Jared Goff twice and sacked him four times.
Jaylon Johnson had his fourth interception this season, Montez Sweat had his career-high 10th sack, and Goff was held to just 161 yards. The Lions scored two touchdowns late in the first half to grab a 13-10 lead but were shut out the rest of the game.
Three weeks ago when the two teams met, the Bears gave up 17 points over the final three minutes in a 31-26 loss, but this time turned the narrative around and scored 15 points in seven minutes to run away with the victory.
Jake Browning refuses to be a one-hit wonder
The Cincinnati Bengals remain in playoff contention even with the loss of starting quarterback Joe Burrow, and they can thank Jake Browning for much of that.
Browning, who had a 354-yard performance against the Jaguars last week, threw for 275 yards, two touchdown passes and ran in another as the Bengals dominated the Indianapolis Colts 34-14, snapping Indianapolis’ four-game win streak.
London, Ont. native and former Illinois running back Chase Brown scored his first NFL touchdown, a 54-yard touchdown reception, to open the scoring for the Bengals.
While the game may have been tied 14-14 going into the half, the second was all Bengals as they scored on their first two drives: An 11-yard touchdown grab by Tanner Hudson and Browning keeping it himself for the one-yard rushing score.
Joe Mixon rushed for 79 yards on 21 carries for a touchdown, which was scored in the second quarter, giving the Bengals a 14-0 lead before the Colts responded with a Mo-Alie Cox score and a 36-yard deflected pick-six by Ronnie Harrison Jr.
The win puts the Bengals at 7-6, very much keeping them in the AFC playoff picture as they host the Minnesota Vikings next week.
Broncos win six of last seven, roll over Chargers
Losing Justin Herbert to a finger injury after he was just 9-of-17 for 96 yards with an interception was less than ideal for the Los Angeles Chargers, who were dominated by the Denver Broncos 24-7.
Denver’s pass rush made it tough for Herbert early as he was sacked four times and hit six times during the Chargers’ first six possessions. They also forced a pair of turnovers, as the Chargers dropped their fourth game in their last five.
As for the Denver offence, Russell Wilson threw for 224 yards on 21-of-33 while scoring two touchdowns including a 46-yard dime to Courtland Sutton, as the Broncos won their sixth in their last seven.
The Denver defence made their presence known early as Jonathon Cooper picked off Herbert at the Chargers’ seven-yard line after his pass was batted at the line of scrimmage by Baron Browning.
That set up a three-yard touchdown run by Javonte Williams to take a 7-0 lead with five minutes remaining in the first quarter before a Wil Lutz 23-yard field goal put Denver up 10-0 at the half. Austin Ekeler’s three-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was the Chargers’ lone scoring play of the game.
Backup QB Easton Stick completed 13-of-24 passes for 179 yards. He had previously played two snaps in five seasons with Los Angeles before replacing Herbert with 1:52 remaining in the second quarter.
The NFC West runs through San Francisco
A division showdown ended heated as the San Francisco 49ers dominated the Seahawks 28-16. Seattle has now lost four straight games for the first time in the Pete Carroll era.
As for the 49ers, all cylinders were firing as Brock Purdy completed 19-of-27 passes for a career-high 368 yards while throwing two touchdowns and one interception. He becomes just the fourth player to complete at least 70 per cent of his passes in seven straight games. Joe Montana holds the record with eight in 1989 while playing for San Francisco.
The 49ers won their 11th straight division game and Deebo Samuel had his second consecutive game with multiple touchdowns as the team seems en route to winning back-to-back NFC West titles for the first time since 2011-12.
Julian Love picked off Purdy early, but the 49ers dominated as Samuel had 150 yards from scrimmage with a receiving and rushing touchdown while Christian McCaffrey added 145 yards on the ground.
Brandon Aiyuk finished the game with 126 yards receiving and George Kittle put up another 76 and a touchdown. Simply put, the 49ers’ offence overpowered the Seahawks’ defence, while the latter’s offence was unable to find any flow against the 49ers’ defence.
With regular starter Geno Smith injured, Drew Lock finished 22-of-31 for 269 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions and was sacked four times with Nick Bosa leading the way. Bosa recorded four solo tackles, two quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks and Seattle converted just two out of 11 tries on third down.
San Francisco is hard to beat because of how well-balanced they are, as McCaffrey, Samuel and Aiyuk marked just the third time in 49ers history that three players had at least 125 yards from scrimmage in a game.
Injuries plague historically low-scoring Vikings-Raiders game
The last time the Raiders were shut out at home was a 28-0 loss to Kansas City in 2011. That streak ended Sunday.
There’s not a lot to say about a game that was 0-0 with two minutes left in the fourth quarter before kicker Greg Joseph nailed the game-winning 36-yard field goal to win it 3-0 for the Vikings.
Nick Mullens played somewhat-hero as starting QB Josh Dobbs was benched after going 10-of-23 for 63 yards and getting sacked five times. Mullens went 9-of-13 for 83 yards which was enough to set up the game-winning field goal, but neither team should be pleased with their offensive performances.
A missed field goal, 17 punts and two turnovers were the story of the offensive snooze fest as both teams combined for a total of 530 offensive yards — just three more yards than the 49ers alone had.
Las Vegas looked to be the team to score early as Hunter Renfrow grabbed a 38-yard catch-and-run, taking it to the Vikings’ 11-yard line, but he fumbled three plays later and Mekhi Blackmon recovered it for Minnesota.
The lowest-scoring NFL game in 16 years still saw key players for both teams injured in the matchup, as the Vikings lost wide receiver Justin Jefferson was taken to hospital with a chest injury. This was Jefferson’s first game back after missing seven due to a hamstring injury.
Las Vegas also lost running back Josh Jacobs to a knee injury in the fourth quarter.