Browns Sticking With Super Bowl MVP To Lead Playoff Push

After starting quarterback Deshaun Watson went down with a shoulder injury, the Cleveland Browns needed a spark with plenty of potential still there for the season.

Now, the Browns are trying to party like it’s 2012.

Cleveland improved to 8-5 on the season, including 6-1 at home, with a 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday behind veteran quarterback Joe Flacco.

In his second start with the club, the former Baltimore Ravens quarterback threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns in a rather impressive performance. With the win, Flacco also became the 19th quarterback to win 100 NFL games, per Football Reference.

“So many times where I was feeling like a 10-year-old kid again,” Flacco told CBS Sports’ Evan Washburn on returning to football. “You just can’t let it be lost on you how special it is to play this game.”

Cleveland signed the Super Bowl XLVII MVP in November and could keep the Browns on schedule in the final weeks of the regular season.

The Browns currently hold the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoff picture. In the thick of the postseason race, Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters after the win that Flacco will remain as the Browns starter for the rest of the season, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

With a favorable schedule in their final four games, the Browns could be here to make some noise.

If they do make the postseason, that has been where Flacco is at his best, tossing 25 career playoff touchdowns with a 10-5 record, including a masterful run through the 2012 playoffs en route to his only championship.