Joe Flacco interceptions: Browns QB makes history with multiple pick-sixes in loss to Texans

Joe Flacco had worked some magic in his short time with the Browns. But on Saturday, in the team’s opening playoff game against the Texans, he chose the worst possible time to regress.

The Browns went into the locker room at halftime trailing only 24-14, and forced a three-and-out to have a chance at bringing the contest back to a one-score game. But on back-to-back drives, Flacco threw pick-sixes, all but putting a nail in Cleveland’s chances of coming back against the Texans in the wild-card round. The Browns lost 45-14.

It has been a remarkable five-game, regular-season run for Flacco, who was signed out of free agency on Nov. 20 by Cleveland following a season-ending injury to Deshaun Watson and inconsistent quarterback play to back him up from P.J. Walker and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

MORE: CJ Stroud posts impressive stats in win vs. Browns

Flacco went 4-1 in his five starts for the Browns, powering Cleveland to a wild-card berth and resting the final week of the regular season. But it appears his remarkable comeback with the Browns ended with his second errant pass of the game, one of the many concerning trends he showed throughout the 2023 season.

Joe Flacco interceptions

The Texans had been without a pick-six all season. But Steven Nelson picked a great time to give Houston its first. 

Flacco was being sacked by Derek Barnett when he tried either to throw the ball away or get a dump-off pass to tight end David Njoku. No matter the target, it didn’t land where it was intended.

Instead, Nelson camped under the ball for the easy catch. He then had a large contingent of Texans to block for him on his way to the end zone for an 82-yard touchdown.

The @HoustonTexans first pick-6 of the season came at a pretty good time.

📺: #CLEvsHOU on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/jM781VisSx pic.twitter.com/h5pC52nrZu

— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2024

The next pick-six came on another mistake by Flacco. He attempted to throw a short pass to tight end Harrison Bryant, but appeared to miss linebacker Christian Harris lurking just behind Bryant. Harris quickly jumped the route and intercepted the pass, returning it easily for the 36-yard pick-six.

ANOTHER @HoustonTexans pick-6 🗣️🗣️🗣️

📺: #CLEvsHOU on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/jM781VisSx pic.twitter.com/0cLwVnM7hV

— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2024

Joe Flacco stats

Flacco largely played the role of hero for the Browns. He threw for at least two touchdowns in each game. He had over 300 passing yards in all but one of those games, his first start, which was also his lone loss as the Browns’ starter.

But it didn’t take diving deep into the stat sheet to see a major problem. Flacco had at least one interception in each game and three in a narrow win over the Bears. He also had six interceptions over his final three games and finished the regular season with eight picks in just five games played, a 17-game pace of 27.2.

Interceptions have plagued Flacco throughout his NFL career. He was the starter in Baltimore for 10 full seasons. During each of them, he threw at least 10 interceptions. He had thrown six in his final year, 2018, before he was benched for Lamar Jackson after starting nine games.

Source