CLEVELAND — If the Jets did not regret failing to call Joe Flacco before Thursday’s game against the Browns, they certainly should now.
Flacco, the former Jets quarterback, and the Browns carved up the Jets’ defense and embarrassed Robert Saleh and Co. in prime time with a 37-20 victory at Cleveland Browns Stadium that was not as close as the score.
The Jets did not bother to call Flacco earlier this season after Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles.
Instead, they decided to stick with Zach Wilson and later signed veteran Trevor Siemian, who started for the Jets on Thursday.
Saleh defended that decision this week, saying he had no regrets about not pursuing Flacco, who played parts of the last three seasons for the Jets.
Flacco showed what he was capable of, throwing for 309 yards on 19 of 29 passing with three touchdowns.
Flacco became the first quarterback to throw for 300 yards against the Jets since Tom Brady at the end of the 2021 season, snapping a streak of 33 games without allowing a 300-yard passer.
The Cleveland crowd chanted “Flacco, Flacco, Flacco” as the Browns ran out the clock in the fourth quarter.
“I’m not going to say I can’t believe out of everybody, we let Joe get it,” Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner said, “but I wasn’t expecting … if I had to pick anybody, he wouldn’t be the guy I would think would do that. He did a great job today.”
Flacco’s former teammates said he was clearly motivated to show up the Jets.
“I think so. Who wouldn’t?” Jets cornerback D.J. Reed said. “I think [Flacco and fellow former Jet Elijah Moore] definitely had a chip coming into the game.”
It was an embarrassing effort from the defense, which has been the strength of the team all season.
They allowed a total of 428 yards, the most the Jets have allowed this season.
The Browns had 367 yards in the first half and 166 in the first quarter. Browns tight end David Njoku had four catches for 113 yards in the first quarter.
“It was horrible,” Reed said. “It was probably the worst you could get. We just didn’t execute. The play-calling was flawless. Coach [Jeff Ulbrich] put us in great positions to make plays. We either had mental errors or we just didn’t tackle.”
While the offense is playing with backups along the line and Siemian is their fourth quarterback, the defense has no such excuses.
They had all of their key players in the game Thursday night, but could not stop the Browns, who were also playing with their fourth quarterback this season, backups along their offensive line and were missing No. 1 wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Reed questioned whether the stage was too big for the Jets.
“I don’t know if the lights were just too bright on this stage,” Reed said.
It is a good thing for Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas that Jets owner Woody Johnson has already said they will be back in 2024 because an embarrassment like Thursday night would have them on the hot seat otherwise.
The Jets fell to 6-10 this season, their fourth straight season with double-digit losses.
The Browns are 11-5 after four straight wins with Flacco. The victory clinched a playoff berth for Cleveland.
“It wasn’t good enough all the way across the board,” Saleh said.
The Browns sliced up the Jets’ defense from the start.
They went 75 yards on seven plays on their first drive with two passes to Njoku of 36 and 28 yards. Flacco threw a 7-yard pass to Jerome Ford for the touchdown.
The Jets’ offense shockingly delivered an answer on its first drive, going 75 yards on six plays. Siemian threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Breece Hall to tie the game at 7-7.
It was the first time this season the Jets scored a touchdown on their first possession.
Flacco kept things going, though, with another 75-play drive. He again found Njoku, this time for 43 yards, to get the ball to the Jets’ 7. Kareem Hunt scored from there to put Cleveland up 13-7 with 4:43 left in the first quarter.
Jets returner Israel Abanikanda fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving the Browns the ball at the Jets’ 12-yard line, but the Browns could not take advantage of the short field and turned the ball over on downs.
The Browns’ defense scored on the Jets’ next possession with safety Ronnie Hickman returning a Siemian interception 30 yards for a touchdown and a 20-7 lead with 2:01 remaining in the quarter.
Flacco was not the only former Jet to get in on tormenting his former team.
Moore, a 2021 draft pick by the Jets, scored an 8-yard touchdown in the second quarter to extend the lead to 27-7 and send the home crowd into a frenzy.
The Jets’ defense finally made a play a few minutes later when Jermaine Johnson intercepted Flacco after deflecting the ball to himself and raced 37 yards for the touchdown. It was a sign of life from the Jets but it was short-lived.
Flacco escaped Quinnen Williams’ pass rush and rolled to his left before throwing a short pass to Ford, who raced through the Jets defense and a bunch of sloppy tackling for a 50-yard touchdown and the Browns were again ahead by 20 points at 34-14.
Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein cut it to a 34-17 lead at halftime with a 46-yard field goal.
The Jets now head to Foxborough to finish the season against the Patriots.
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