After the Cleveland Browns squeaked a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, it felt like a forgone conclusion about what would happen next. 

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski named Flacco the starter for the rest of the season, with Deshaun Watson out, Dorian Thompson-Robinson battling through inconsistency, and P.J. Walker not a guaranteed success. Flacco was — and is — the best option. But amid his success, which has vaulted him into discussions for Comeback Player of the Year, the 38-year-old is keeping a level head about the success that has come to him of late. The Browns are better for it. 

"I appreciate you guys having me,” Flacco said Sunday to his teammates. “I feel like a 10-year-old kid out there.”

Playing like a kid can bring success to the Browns

Remarkable in Flacco's return to the NFL from his couch is the immediate success he's had in Cleveland. 

He has quarterbacked the Browns to a 1-1 record in games he's started — in the thick of the playoff hunt — while also being a quarterback that pushes the ball downfield — something the Browns haven't had in nearly half a decade. 

It was playing like a kid that helped produce a 311-yard and three-touchdown performance. 

Before that, it was playing like a kid that produced a 254-yard and two-touchdown performance on Dec. 3. 

At 38 years old, Flacco's freedom and success for the Browns is built on having nothing to prove. 

He is already a Super Bowl champion. His legacy, or at least much of it, is written. All he has left to do is play the game. A children's game. 

Yes, in football, there is money, playoff hopes, fans — it all could feel like the weight of the world. But there is also a proven freedom from not having to live up to outside expectations.

That, in every way, is Flacco. He won't change his legacy, barring a Cinderella run to the Super Bowl (again). But he can go out there and play the game that has defined his life. 

And that, he appears more than willing to do. 

"In January and February, this is what it’s going to be," Flacco said of the Browns win over the Jaguars. "To have the mental toughness to come through in those types of games, that’s what winners are made of.”

In the modern NFL, Flacco's statue-style of play feels dated. It forced the Browns to use four quarterbacks in Week 14. It looks like something out of "How to Play Quarterback 2005." But it has worked in Cleveland because Flacco feels the freedom to be exactly who he is — nothing else. 

The veteran is carefree. He's playing simply to play the game he knows and loves. It's that lightness with which he operates that has liberated the rest of Cleveland's offense to do the same. 

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