Flacco struggled in Week 1 against Baltimore, however, the blame wasn’t all on him for what went wrong.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh confirmed on Wednesday he’s staying with the 37-year old veteran as his quarterback against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Flacco, starting for the injured Zach Wilson, didn’t look good in a 24-9 loss to Baltimore in the regular-season opener. He struggled against his former team, completing 37 of 59 pass attempts for 307 yards and one touchdown.
When a quarterback is dropping back 59 times to throw, the chances of winning that game are slim to none. Flacco, not the most mobile of quarterbacks, was sacked three times and hit 11 times behind a patched-up offensive line.
Additionally, the secondary — specifically at safety — struggled in pass coverage. Also, the receivers did Flacco no favors with a handful of dropped passes.
Speculation on Saleh pivoting from Flacco to third-string QB Mike White picked up speed on Monday, when the head coach left open the door by saying all positions were being evaluated, including quarterback.
It’s a door Saleh on Wednesday, and perhaps after he was done evaluating, decided to close — for now.
“Joe’s our quarterback,” Saleh said, adding that the team is focused on preparing for the Browns.
The Jets are banged up on the offensive line. If Flacco is to have success, however, the unit must must do a better job of protecting him. Cleveland’s Myles Garrett poses a legitimate threat, the edge rusher had two sacks in Cleveland’s season-opening win at Carolina.
As for Wilson, he’s expected to be sidelined at least two more games. A possible return could come on October 2, at Pittsburgh.
We’re about to find out if Flacco can hold down the fort until then.
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Anthony Rushing is on Twitter @TonyRushingNY
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