Myles Garrett signed up for this and each week, it’s becoming clear why he threatened to leave Cleveland, shortly after the 2024 season ended. He ultimately took the paycheck over a winning team, but his frustrations continue to get amplified each week. Garrett’s the face of a championship-level defense that’s at the mercy of a Joe Flacco-led offense.
To be fair, this is more than just a Joe Flacco problem on offense, but it’s becoming clearer each snap he takes that he’s holding this team back and wasting away one of the NFL’s best defenses. The Green Bay Packers scored three points through two-and-a-half quarters against Cleveland.
This is the same Packers team that had no issues against the Washington Commanders or the Detroit Lions. The last team that was supposed to stop them was the Cleveland Browns. And the fact that the Packers can’t figure out how to score on Cleveland goes to show just how good their defense is.
Until they figure out this offense, this team won’t ever get out of their decades-long rebuild. Until they find a franchise quarterback, they’ll always hold the organization back from real success. I want to feel bad for Garrett, but he chose this life and it’s one that’s going to cost him a championship.
Joe Flacco is showing his age and wasting a championship caliber defense at the same time
Sunday, Sept. 21 should be the last start Joe Flacco makes with the Cleveland Browns and truthfully in his overstayed NFL career. The game against Baltimore in Week 2 highlighted his struggles, but it was also a game the Browns weren’t supposed to win. What he looked like in the first half against the Green Bay Packers goes to show it’s time to turn to Dillon Gabriel.
The Browns drafted two rookie quarterbacks and at this point, it’s time to see what they’re about. Maybe not Shedeur Sanders, but the time is now for Gabriel and there are a couple reasons why Cleveland should turn to their rookie. For one, they need to find out if they have something worth building around or a bridge quarterback before they inevitably use one of their first-round picks in search for another quarterback.
Two, playing Flacco isn’t helping and inserting Gabriel isn’t going to hurt this team anymore. Flacco was supposed to do enough to not lose games. While the two interceptions against the Bengals weren’t his fault, if he doesn’t turn the ball over as much as he has this season, maybe the Browns are on the cusp of being a 2-1 team after Week 3.
This offense looks miserable, and it’s largely been to Flacco’s play the last two weeks. He was brought in to do enough to keep the Browns competitive. Instead, he’s the reason why this defense should be mad nearly a month into the season.
Cleveland’s offense has out-gained both the Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens this year, yet the Browns are averaging just 16.5 points per game. Every quarterback loves to have a defense to back them up and Flacco is wasting that this year.
Browns will soon regret wasting this elite defense
This isn’t about pointing fingers, but this team has spent years trying to piece together an offense that can win games and in the process, built one of the best defenses in the NFL. They’ve been inconsistent, but this team has built a core defense around Denzel Ward and Myles Garrett. There’s not too many more years left. They'll be playing at a high level.
For Cleveland to waste away what looks to be yet another strong year from the defense, it’s just disappointing. They can’t rely on Flacco to do enough to not lose a game now, their offensive line might be worse than the Bengals’ and their receiving room is just as bad. The amount of holes on this team just doesn’t make sense.
It would be easier to accept if both sides of the ball were struggling. But this is the type of defense fans dream of and it means nothing because the offense can’t score. They will regret wasting away Garrett’s prime. This year will really set in how disappointing this organization is.