If the benchmark was not throwing four interceptions and looking every bit the part of someone playing their fourth NFL game, then yes, Joe Flacco was a better choice to start Sunday’s game for the Jets than Mike White was.
Flacco, at age 36, isn’t the same quarterback that was once the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII, but he was both efficient (24-of-39, 61.5 percent completion rate) and effective (291 yards, two touchdowns) running Gang Green’s offense against a blitz-heavy Dolphins defense.
"He did what we all expected him to do: he settled the offense," head coach Robert Saleh said after the game. "He faced a lot of pressure, he got hit a few times, got the ball where it needed to go. He did a really nice job out there."
The problem? The Jets still lost, 24-17, because they shot themselves in the foot so many times.
“When you get out there and start running plays you get back in your comfort zone,” Flacco, who hadn’t even played this season until relieving White late in last week’s loss to Buffalo, said of his starting return. “The offense, as a whole, did some good things, but there were too many mistakes to win a football game."
Some of those miscues were on him, but Flacco also showed some big-play ability. In the third quarter, he hit rookie wideout Elijah Moore for a 62-yard touchdown pass, the Jets’ longest play of the season and one that tied the game at 14-14.
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"They came up and showed Cover 0, but I could tell they weren't bringing it on that one," Flacco said. "They would play Cover 0 and press on third and short but not longer, and there really wasn’t a safety on the line of scrimmage, so I knew. They had shown us some different looks in the beginning [of the game] and it may have looked confusing, but on this one, I dropped back, told myself to stay patient and just make a good throw.”
Jets fans are hoping to see a lot of Zach Wilson to Moore touchdowns over the coming years, and at least on the back half, the receiver got the Flacco seal of approval after his best game as a pro.
“He’s starting to develop into a really good receiver. Early on he got caught up doing a lot with his feet and hands, but he’s modified it just enough to let his quickness to the work,” Flacco said. “He has a good head on his shoulders, and he’s eager to learn and get better.”
Beyond that, though, Flacco was up-and-down as he faced the blitzing Dolphins, although he did a solid job on the whole of avoiding that rush.
“I think they got to us a couple of times, but a lot of them, there were balls I was able to get out and into some guys’ hands,” Flacco said. “Overall, we probably handled it well on a percentage basis, but there are those that end up biting you in butt, like the fumble.”
The fumble he refers to is a sack fumble caused by Byron Jones when the Jets had the ball inside Miami’s 10-yard line, one of several trips into Miami territory that were fruitless. As head coach Robert Saleh noted, only two of the Jets’ drives didn’t enter Miami territory – and one of those was stopped at their own 48, just shy of midfield – but a fumble, two missed field goals, and two penalties meant the other five non-scoring drives left points on the table.
“That’s at least 12 or so we left; I don’t care how good your football team is, if you’re losing points in that regard, you’re not going to win,” Saleh said.
The head coach did trust Flacco to go for it on 4th-and-goal at the two on their second drive, even though they were down 7-0, thanks to the way the defense had just come up big with an Ashtyn Davis interception to start the drive at Miami’s 40.
“We had a lot of faith on the offense to score, and if we didn’t, we felt good about our defense,” Saleh said. “The first drive wasn’t what we wanted, but I felt we matched up well, and worst case, we might get the ball back at midfield.”
Functional might, sadly, be the best way to describe the day, but there might be good news at the end of the tunnel: Zach Wilson worked out hard again pre-game, and there’s a chance he could return next Sunday in Houston.
“We’ll feel him out to see where he is mentally and physically over the next two days,” Saleh said.
Until then, Flacco is going to prepare as if it’s his show once again next week.
“Every time I take the field, I want to play my best and put my team in the best position to win,” he said. “We didn’t get it done today, but I’ll continue to do that until I’m told I’m not going to, and I’m going to enjoy it and have fun with the guys.”
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