This is not one we saw coming when the schedules were released back in May. Trevor Siemian and the 6-9 New York Jets traveling to the playoff hopeful, Joe Flacco lead Cleveland Browns.

Yet here we are.

The Browns are 10-5 and likely headed to the playoffs. The Jets are extending their playoff drought to 13 years and turning once again to Trevor Siemian who will start in place of Zach Wilson who is still in the concussion protocol.

Flacco was signed off his couch by Cleveland on Nov. 20, quickly became the starting quarterback and has the Browns rolling. Cleveland has three wins in a row and Flacco is leading the NFL in passing yards over the last four weeks with a staggering 1,307 yards and already has more passing touchdowns in four games (10) than Zach Wilson has in 12 games (eight).

“Joe’s awesome,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said this week. “Obviously, you know that we all love and appreciate Joe and always felt very confident when he was on the football field. … Joe is, I’ve said it before, he’s like a Ford pickup truck. You might not like it in the summer, but in the winter months, December, January, that son of a gun starts humming and he’s playing some really, really, really, good football.”

When the Jets lost Aaron Rodgers four offensive plays into the season, Flacco said he would’ve been interested in re-signing with the Jets but they weren’t interested in a reunion with the 38-year-old.

To the Jets credit, it wasn’t as if Joe was tearing it up when he filled in for the Jets going 1-8 with his lone victory coming against the Cleveland Browns in one of the wildest endings to a game we have ever seen.

Instead, New York opted to roll with Zach Wilson, and Tim Boyle, eventually adding Trevor Siemian, who will start Thursday night.

When asked if he was mad that the Jets didn’t reach out after Rodgers’ injury, Flacco the professional didn’t harp on it. “No, not really,” he said. “The only reason they crossed my mind is because people ask me, ‘Hey, are the Jets going to call you?’ Like, as soon as something happens, like all your buddies and everybody like that.”

Flacco will look to keep things rolling with veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper who had 11 catches for 265 yards and two touchdowns last week against the Houston Texans. He did a lot of his damage against the first cornerback taken in the 2022 NFL draft, Derek Stingley. This week he will try his luck against the second CB taken in that draft, Sauce Gardner.

Cooper has gone over 100 yards and had a touchdown in each of his last two games, but he does go into today’s game with a heel injury.

“He’s Amari, has been one of the better receivers in football for a very long time and anytime you see those numbers, it’s going to put your antennas up,” Robert Saleh said. “We love our corners and they’re going to have their work cut out for him.”

On the offensive side of the ball, the Jets will look to generate some points against one of the league’s best defenses and contain one of the best defensive playmakers in Myles Garrett. Garrett is having another great season with 13 sacks and he could wreck this game against the Jets’ offensive line.

“He can do everything,” Siemian said. “Speed, power, they move him around. Sudden. When you think he’s running the corner, he’ll bull rush, so it’s important to know where he’s at for sure. He’s a problem.”

This figures to be a low scoring game as the Jets defense looks to bounce back after a terrible second half against the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

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Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas got a bad break this season. They knew the pressure of the playoff mandate and were going to get a real shot at ending the playoff drought with Aaron Rodgers coming to the New York Jets. So, when Aaron Rodgers went down four offensive plays into the year, expectations had […]

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