Does 39-year-old Joe Flacco really give the Indianapolis Colts the best chance to win Sunday?
In a gritty conclusion to the 2022 season, Joe Flacco faced the Miami Dolphins in what seemed like a farewell performance for the former Super Bowl MVP. The Dolphins held Flacco to 149 yards and 4.5 yards per pass attempt in the 11-6 win — the Jets exceeded 12 points in just one of his four starts.
It seemed Flacco’s career was winding down, but he proved otherwise. He earned a chance to step in last season for Cleveland after Deshaun Watson’s injury, leading the Browns to the playoffs with a record of 4-1 down the stretch while completing 123 of 204 attempts for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
After earning the Comeback Player of the Year Award, Flacco used it as a springboard to sign a one-year deal to back up Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson. When the second-year pro went down with an oblique injury in Week 4 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Flacco picked up where he left off in Cleveland.
He completed 16 of 26 attempts for 168 yards and two touchdowns as the Colts eeked out a 27-24 win. Flacco has a 2-1 record, helping the Colts reach 3-3 after scoring 10 unanswered points on the road to defeat the Tennessee Titans 20-17.
Last week, Richardson practiced fully Thursday but was limited on Friday, opening the door for Flacco to start his third-straight game. That said, Richardson was healthy enough to serve as the team’s emergency QB No. 3 and coach Shane Steichen expects him to be available Sunday against the Dolphins.
“We’ve got to prepare for both,” Dolphins defensive tackle Calais Campbell said Monday. “That’s just more work for all of us, right? They both kind of played a few games this year, so at least there’s tape on both of them.”
The Colts started the year 1-2 and averaged less than 20 points per game with Richardson behind center. He threw three touchdowns compared to six interceptions while averaging roughly 40 rushing yards per game across those three starts.
“[Anthony] Richardson is probably the ultimate athlete and probably from a pass rusher standpoint, the biggest challenge we’ll have so far this season,” Campbell added. “And then you have Joe Flacco, who from the secondary stuff is different, but for us up front, he’s probably as close as you’re going to get to a statue in the NFL.”
Flacco has played 193 snaps compared to Richardson’s 170 over the first six weeks, providing the offense with a distinctly different skill set. He has attempted 108 passes and maintains a 102.2 passer rating, while Richardson has attempted 77 passes with a rating of 60.2.
“Now, in this day and age and in this business, he’s the ideal guy you want to go after from a pass rusher standpoint,” Campbell explained, “but he also has a brilliant mind and can make every throw and he has weapons and he knows how to use them and he’s been playing some good football, which I expected.
“So preparing for both of them is a challenge, but that’s just how it goes. But Joe Flacco is one of the few guys older than me out there, so we got drafted the same year and I got a lot of respect for him, but I’m looking forward to whoever plays, just going out there and competing.”
