To me, Joe Flacco looks like he could be this week’s Jameis Winston. I like the matchup, and he’s got a lot more ability to ability to run an offense than the guy he’s replacing.
I like the wide receiver group in Indianapolis. They’ve got Michael Pittman, Josh Downs and Alec Pierce as their three main guys, and second-rounder Adonai Mitchell might eventually be better than all of them.
They’re at Minnesota, and while the Vikings have aggressively gotten after quarterbacks, it’s a defense that tends to force opponents to pass. Minnesota ranks 3rd against the run but next-to-last against the pass, allowing 286 passing yards per game. Of the 17 TDs allowed by this defense, all but 3 have come on passes.
In this way, Minnesota’s defense looks a lot like Baltimore’s (the Ravens rank 1st against the run but last against the pass).
But mostly, I like that Flacco keeps producing every time he’s put on the field. Cleveland started him five times late last year, and he threw 13 touchdowns in those games. He came off the bench and tossed 2 TDs in the win over the Steelers. They started him the next week at Jacksonville and Flacco went for 359 yards and 3 TDs. He threw for only 188 yards in his other start (at Tennessee) but with 2 TDs.
That’s seven straight starts for Flacco in which he’s thrown multiple touchdown passes. In the 32-team era (22-plus seasons) only 34 quarterbacks have had longer streaks.
Flacco can’t run at all, which is a negative, but I would think he’s got a good chance of outperforming over half of the other 29 quarterbacks who are starting this week.
| CONSECUTIVE STARTS WITH MULTIPLE TD PASSES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player, team | G | Start | End |
| Peyton Manning, Den. | 15 | 11/24/13 | 11/9/14 |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 14 | 10/14/18 | 9/22/19 |
| Peyton Manning, Ind. | 13 | 9/9/04 | 12/12/04 |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 13 | 11/7/10 | 10/2/11 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 13 | 9/8/11 | 12/11/11 |
| Philip Rivers, LAC | 13 | 12/31/17 | 12/2/18 |
| Peyton Manning, Den. | 11 | 12/23/12 | 11/10/13 |
| Cam Newton, Car. | 11 | 9/16/18 | 12/2/18 |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 10 | 9/9/07 | 11/18/07 |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 10 | 10/5/14 | 12/14/14 |
| Philip Rivers, S.D.-LAC | 10 | 10/30/16 | 9/11/17 |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 9 | 10/16/11 | 12/18/11 |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 9 | 11/6/11 | 9/9/12 |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 9 | 9/23/12 | 11/25/12 |
| Tom Brady, N.E. | 9 | 9/10/15 | 11/15/15 |
| Ryan Tannehill, Ten. | 9 | 11/10/19 | 9/20/20 |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 9 | 12/29/19 | 11/8/20 |
| Tom Brady, T.B. | 9 | 11/15/20 | 9/19/21 |
| Patrick Mahomes, K.C. | 9 | 12/13/20 | 10/17/21 |
| Jordan Love, G.B. | 9 | 12/17/23 | 10/20/24 |
| Peyton Manning, Ind. | 8 | 10/17/05 | 12/11/05 |
| Kurt Warner, Ari. | 8 | 11/11/07 | 12/30/07 |
| Kurt Warner, Ari. | 8 | 9/14/08 | 11/10/08 |
| Drew Brees, N.O. | 8 | 11/24/08 | 9/20/09 |
| Matthew Stafford, Det. | 8 | 10/31/10 | 10/16/11 |
| Peyton Manning, Ind.-Den. | 8 | 11/21/10 | 9/9/12 |
| Marcus Mariota, Ten. | 8 | 10/9/16 | 11/27/16 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 8 | 10/20/16 | 12/11/16 |
| Andrew Luck, Ind. | 8 | 11/20/16 | 9/16/18 |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 8 | 10/22/17 | 12/10/17 |
| Andrew Luck, Ind. | 8 | 9/30/18 | 11/25/18 |
| Russell Wilson, Sea. | 8 | 10/7/18 | 12/2/18 |
| Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 8 | 10/25/20 | 12/13/20 |
| Joe Burrow, Cin. | 8 | 9/12/21 | 10/31/21 |
| Joe Flacco, Cle.-Ind. | 7 | 12/3/23 | active |
—Ian Allan