sport news 'Like a drug': Jets veteran QB Joe Flacco, 37, opens up on epic 30-31 win ... trends now
The Cleveland Browns were moments from their first 2-0 start in 29 years before they blew a two-touchdown lead in the final 1:55 and lost 31-30 to the New York Jets and Joe Flacco on Sunday.
The 37-year-old quarterback fired a 15-yard touchdown pass to rookie Garret Wilson with 22 seconds left on the clock.
Cleveland's defense had a major breakdown barely a minute earlier as Jets wide receiver Corey Davis got behind the secondary and caught a 66-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to pull the Jets within 30-24 and give them hope.
'Just a calming force,' Jets coach Robert Saleh said of his veteran field general. 'He has been in a lot of these situations leading a bunch of young men. I thought he was cool, calm, got the ball where it needed to go, and they left the door open just a crack.
Joe Flacco made two touchdown passes in the last 1:22 in Q4 against the Browns on Sunday
The ex-Baltimore Ravens quarterback started for the Jets for the first time on Sunday this year
From being MVP in Super Bowl XLVIII with the Baltimore Ravens to having to warm the benches of three teams in as many years recently, Flacco has had to bid his time to stamp his influence on an NFL game as a starter again, just like in the good, ol' days.
He was one of the last Jets players to leave First Energy Stadium on Sunday and just as he was heading towards the entrance of the away team's locker room, he bumped into head coach Robert Saleh and Woody Johnson, with whom he celebrated with.
'HELL YEAH!' yelled Flacco, who also goes by 'Cool Joe' from teammates due to his laid back nature and easiness before big games.
'Winning in the NFL is like a drug,' the former Broncos, Ravens and Eagles player told The New York Post in a postgame interview. 'Not that I have experience with drugs, but it is addicting. It's a powerful thing. This is my seventh start for the Jets and my first win. See that ball right there? I kept it.'
Flacco decided to keep Sunday's game ball after he pointed at its direction in the locker room as he wanted a souvenir to remember the epic comeback.
'I took that last knee and I was going to keep that ball,' the 37-year-old quarterback further told The Post. 'It means a lot. This team's been through a lot and I feel like I've been here for a good amount of it, and it feels good.'
Flacco added
