QB Joe Flacco (9.24.25)
So, when you watch this Detroit Lions defense on film, obviously they sacked Lamar (Jackson) seven times. Can you just talk about what you’re seeing out of these guys?
“I think overall, what you get from these guys is what is what you get from them as a whole, like as a whole unit. I think they’ve been so good the last few years just because they play physical football. They understand that’s what wins football games, and I think for us as an offense, we have to understand that we’re going to be in for that kind of game.”
You talked after the Green Bay game about how hard that game was, and especially offensively it was hard. Do you see any light at the end of the tunnel? When will it become less hard?
“I don’t think you can ever bank on that. Listen, I mean, it is supposed to be hard to a certain extent when you’re in this league, and I think it’s just up to you to have the mindset that you’re ready to deal with that. And I think if you do have that mindset, that it’s going to be hard every week, then you give yourself the best chance to go out there and meet it head on and have the most success you can.”
Joe (Flacco), do you think teams are trying to take away the 15, 18, 20-yard pass play?
“I think most of the time defenses do what they do well. You know, obviously you go into each week with a game plan, and obviously you have to attack different teams in different ways. But ultimately, the good teams, they get really good at doing a couple things and they do those things.”
Joe, stylistically, does this Lions defense kind of feel similar to Cleveland’s defense in terms of the cover one, a lot of man. And if so, how does that maybe inform your preparation this week?
“Well, yeah, I think at the base they play man, and they’re not afraid to match up any of their guys with any of our guys. I think it just goes back to what I said earlier, about them playing physical, and them having an identity and not backing down from it. I think anytime you go against teams like that, then you know they’re good, and it’s up to you to go in there with that mindset and just attack it and be aggressive yourself.”
Joe, after the game, you said there were probably some downfield opportunities. When you went back and watched the film, did you see that? And is that an area where this offense can grow?
“For sure. It’s little things here, little things there that kind of take you off of it or the situation of the game maybe, whatever it may be. I think every time you go back and watch film, there’s some things that maybe you thought you could hit and that was true or wasn’t, and this was no other. I think I was, in the moment, a little bit disappointed about a couple opportunities that I thought I might have had. And I think there was opportunities there. But I also can see maybe why I didn’t do what I did, maybe why I did do what I did. I think you’re going to have those all the time, and I think the biggest thing with this one is at least were able to win the football game and learn from those things. And that’s just a learning experience. You watch it on the film, and maybe the next time you get in those situations, you treat it a little bit differently.”
As the gunslinger, are you taking a back seat to be more conservative?
“I think as a quarterback, your job is to go out there and do whatever you have to do to win the football games. And I think right now, especially with the way our defense is playing, if that’s what I have to do week in and week out, I’m not going to be shy about doing that. I think there’s always a point in your career where you’re worried about, probably wrongfully so, you’re worried about putting up yards and things like that. All I care about is winning football games. That’s it.”
The run offense seemed to get going a little better last week. So how can you build on that going forward? “Yeah, I think anytime you get to see some good chunks in the run game, and guys get their confidence up, and the O-line gets, starts to feel themselves a little bit and become really aggressive. And you put that on tape, and now teams have to defend it. Listen, all the best run teams I’ve been around, you’re almost welcoming teams to come stack the box against you, because sometimes when you split through that little initial thing, you’re one on one with the safety. So, I think the challenge for us is as we do get better and hopefully teams start to do that against us, is to have that mindset that we want that to happen because that’s when the chunks can come.”
Joe, talking about the fact that you guys have an uncertain tackle situation heading into this game. Not sure if Jack’s (Conklin) going to be able to play, although I think he’s practicing today, but Dawand (Jones) being out for the year. Can you just talk about the situation?
“Yeah, it’s very rare where you go into a game where, you’re just looking at your team, and you’re in the ideal world with everybody that you have on the roster. Maybe week one, but even a lot of times week one is not like that. So, I think if you talk to all other 31 teams, they’d be dealing with something similar. So, it’s just part of it, and you got to just adapt on the fly, and that’s why we have these guys to be able to step up and do what they do.”
Going back to the conservative gunslinger kind of balance, is that always something that throughout your career you’re trying to find, that right balance, and can it change week-to-week?
“I think most of my career, it’s funny because I’ve probably gotten to throw the ball around the yard a little bit the last few years when I’ve been in games, but I think most of my career I’ve honestly played in that conservative style offense, where you have to take care of the football, and it might not look pretty all the time, but there’s going to be a handful of plays that you have to make in every game that could be a deciding factor. So, it’s funny to see how things go, but teams are different, and teams are good at doing different things, and we’re still trying to find a little bit about what we are the best at. And during that process, it’s just finding that balance and doing what you can do as a quarterback.”
How tough is having that mentality to not press even with a game like last game?
“I think the biggest thing for me like right now, like I talked about a little bit ago, is it’s honestly easier than it probably ever has in my career because while it’s always about winning, like you know, when you are 18 years in, it’s even more clear now than ever that it is truly about winning football games and nothing else. So, I honestly do think it’s, you know, obviously you have to give yourself those reminders all the time, but I think when that’s what is in the forefront of your mind, then it’s easy to kind of just do what you have to do.”
Joe, how important is it for you to start to really get going with Jerry (Jeudy), or can you just not force something like that? Do you have to let it come and do you feel like it will come one of these days soon?
“You do have to let it come. At the same time, it’s important, you know, it’s…you know, if he’s going, then. Then we’re going to be going good. And at the same time, like, you can’t. You could come up with things throughout the week, and obviously you’re doing that every week. You’re game planning to get certain guys the ball in certain situations and all that. But if you start to force things, especially with the way we’re – you know, we’re playing good teams right now, you start to force things against good football teams, then usually bad things happen and those kinds of football teams take advantage of that. So, I think it can be frustrating for him, for me, especially when we’re just not putting up as many points as we want to anyway. But, man, you got to fight that urge big time.”
How much is safety help from other teams maybe influenced the kind of decisions you’re making or maybe the availability of downfield stuff?
“Well, I mean, listen, it’s probably hard to talk about this generically over the last three weeks. I’d have to go back and look at every single thing. But, you know, obviously we haven’t been able to get the ball downfield so far and we’ll have to see what we can do about that.”
You mentioned being happy with the way guys were handling the struggles on Sunday, and no temper tantrums or whatever. So, did you have to talk to guys, or did you just feel everybody was able to keep their spirits up?
“Yeah, no, I didn’t. And I’m not even saying that spirits were up. I don’t think spirits were very high, but at the same time, it’s just obvious the way that we continued to play throughout that game that everybody was able to keep a level head to some extent. Yeah, it’s never going to be perfect, and you’re definitely going to be emotional in those situations, but everybody was able to keep it together just enough to go out there and do the right thing.”
The Lions offense is awesome. 90 points the last two games. How much does that influence the offensive game plan for the Browns?
“Well, it’s not up to me. I mean, you got to talk to Kevin (Stefanski) and Tommy (Rees). Maybe they’ll be able to answer that later today or tomorrow. But honestly, like, when you get into that world about worrying about the other side of the ball, then you just do your whole team a disservice. That’s for Jim (Schwartz) and Myles (Garrett) and Denzel (Ward) and all those guys to worry about, and they’ve been doing a really good job this year.”
So do you talk to Jerry (Jeudy) throughout the week and you guys say, “Hey, it’s going to come. Let’s keep doing the right things and hang in there”? Do you have to have that kind of a conversation, or is that just something that it’s going to play itself out on the field?
“We haven’t, and maybe at some point you have to, but I would hope not. I really – you know, it’s funny because I get these questions up here, but I’m not really…I don’t really think about those things. You know, listen, I want to go out there, I do want to go out there and throw for 300 every day and do all those things. I want him to have 150 every week. But that’s just not how this league works all the time. You got to stay patient, and when your number’s called, I think if you are in that patient mindset, then you’re going to be the most ready to strike when the opportunity is ready for you. And I think that’s all we can do.”
Joe, going into the season, you know, after getting through the preseason and training camp here, did you have an idea in your mind of, like, what the personality of this offense was going to be and just, you know, how much further do you guys need to go to get to maybe what you thought it was going to be?
“Listen, I think we want to ultimately be physical, and we want to play fast. You know, we want to put pressure on teams, and we want to do that with physicality, and I think we’re building towards that. But when you do those two things, everything else kind of tends to fall in place. This game still comes down to teams being able to feel that physical presence and to you putting pressure on them with your speed and just your speed of operation and speed of your motions, getting out of the huddle, all those things. I think that’s what we’re striving to be, and we’re working towards it.”
I remember when you were here in ’23, you guys were pretty thin at tackle for some of those games. What worked for you guys then in that situation? Maybe could that apply to what you guys have now?
“Yeah, I think you can always look at those things. I mean, but every year is different, and personnel is different, and there’s different challenges that are presented in terms of game planning and teams you’re going against and all that. So, there’s just a lot of factors. It’s hard to simplify it into one thing right now.”
What can you say about Joel Bitonio just getting out there and playing with, barely getting in and out of his car, Ethan (Pocic) said the other day. wWhat does that mean to you, to have somebody that wants to go through that?
“That’s the kind of guys you want on the football team. If you have 22 of them, man, you’re going to be tough to beat. So, I mean, believe it. Believe me, he gets all the respect in the world from the guys in this locker room and from everybody in this building. He’s a warrior, and, you know, that’s what this game’s all about. And, you know, he kind of just…I think he takes that stuff to heart. He wants to be there for his guys, and you got to respect the hell out of that.”
Rookies have been so integral in these first three games, both on offense and defense. Have you ever seen an influx of rookies having such a quick impact on a team?
“Off the top of my head, it’s tough to think about, but these guys are good players, you know, and I think the biggest thing is just kind of get the ball in their hands and allow them to do what they do best. Specifically, Harold (Fannin Jr.), throughout the course of the three games. I mean, just getting the ball in his hands and the physical catches and then the runs have just been amazing to watch. So hopefully we can have more of that and then get everybody else going and come together, and we’ll be all good.”
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