This NFL season, we saw an alarming number of teams unravel after losing starting quarterbacks to injury, including the Jets (Aaron Rodgers), the Bengals (Joe Burrow), and the Vikings (Kirk Cousins), just to name a few. But week after week, Joe Flacco, the Super Bowl winning 38-year old veteran, remained stuck at home without a place to play.

Mystified by the league-wide snub, Flacco held out hope. So, with help from the best NFL-wideout-impersonation his dad could muster, and the good fortune of an unlocked pee wee field near his home, Flacco kept his arm fresh and his body ready. And by mid-November he was rewarded. The Browns had just lost Deshaun Watson to a shoulder fracture and wanted to give the former Baltimore Ravens star a workout. 

Now, more than seven weeks and five starts later, Joe Flacco is the hottest quarterback in the league, has led the Browns to the playoffs, and is setting records in the process. 

So today, our Browns reporter Jake Trotter takes us inside one of the NFL’s great comeback stories, explaining why the Browns were excited from the moment their new QB showed up and why Flacco and this team are no fluke. 

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