NFL Winners and Losers: Browns' Joe Flacco might go from his couch to the playoffs

Joe Flacco was 38 years old, coming off a bad season with the New York Jets and was unsigned all offseason. This is usually how NFL careers end, even ones as good as Flacco has had. Players fade away and we never realize it.

But Flacco said he wanted to keep playing. He was waiting on the right job to open up.

"I'm hoping that there's the silver lining that I'm not anywhere right now and that I can be available to anybody," Flacco told ESPN in September, and maybe that was a bit of wishful thinking.

Quarterback play has been a mess around the NFL this season due to injuries and disappointing seasons. That's why the Flacco story stands out.

Flacco boarded a commercial flight a few weeks ago when the Cleveland Browns, who had lost Deshaun Watson, needed QB depth. Rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson wasn't impressive. Neither was veteran backup P.J. Walker. Still, there had to be steps for Flacco, a 15-year veteran and former Super Bowl MVP, to get a chance to start. But Flacco was right: He was available when a situation finally came along.

It happened and it has been better than you'd expect, if you watched Flacco struggle last season. Flacco was OK in a loss last week to the Los Angeles Rams, then was a steadying factor in the Browns' 31-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Flacco threw two early touchdowns that gave the Browns confidence. With the Jaguars rallying in the second half, Flacco threw another TD in the fourth quarter to extend Cleveland's lead. Flacco ended up with 311 yards and three touchdowns. The Browns threw it 45 times, which says a lot about their trust level in Flacco in just his second game.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters after Sunday's victory that Flacco would keep the starting role the rest of the season. Flacco might go from his couch to starting a playoff game. Cleveland is 8-5 and in good shape for at least an AFC wild-card spot. That was shaky after Watson's season-ending shoulder injury, but Flacco might be saving the Browns' season. There's no way the Browns can justify going back to Thompson-Robinson after Sunday. It's not like the Browns need Flacco to throw for 300 yards and three TDs every week either. They have a great defense and need just competency at quarterback. It's not that much different than the setup Flacco had with the 2012 Baltimore Ravens, when he helped them win a Super Bowl that season. Yet it was beyond unlikely Flacco would be in that position again for a playoff team 12 years later.

In the fourth quarter Flacco had a fourth-and-3 and a busted coverage left receiver David Bell wide open over the middle. Flacco made his easiest pass of the day for a 41-yard touchdown, which gave Cleveland a 28-14 lead. Cameras followed Flacco running downfield to celebrate with Bell, with the type of enthusiasm you'd expect from someone who wanted to keep playing football, had to wrestle with the possibility he might not get that shot, and then found himself having a huge day for a team that is trending toward a playoff spot.

Flacco's surprising career revival could end up being one of the best stories of this season.

“Anytime you get a little taste of playing football, you want to keep that going for as long as possible,” Flacco said this past week.

Here are the rest of the winners and losers from Week 14 in the NFL season:

WINNERS

Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers’ momentum: Sunday brought more proof that the 49ers are the best team in football. And if Purdy keeps playing like he has been, the 49ers might not lose again this season.

Purdy threw for a career-best 368 yards in a 28-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Considering the Seahawks didn’t have quarterback Geno Smith they were mostly competitive with the 49ers, but San Francisco’s talent eventually took over. Deebo Samuel had 150 total yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Aiyuk had 126 yards receiving, George Kittle had 76 and Christian McCaffrey had 153 total yards. It's hard to compete with that.

Purdy gets questioned for his role in the 49ers’ success, whether it’s him or just being in a perfect situation for a quarterback. It doesn’t matter. He’s productive and the 49ers are the best team in the NFL.

Jake Browning again: Browning's huge Monday night performance in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars didn't seem fluky, but it was also fine to be skeptical that it was a one-week fairy tale.

Browning might not be going anywhere. He was very good again as the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Indianapolis Colts 34-14 and kept clawing back in the playoff race. Browning left with a thumb injury and the Browns will hope it's not serious, but before Browning left he had 275 yards, two passing touchdowns and another one rushing.

The Bengals' ceiling is probably not winning a Super Bowl, like it was with a healthy Joe Burrow. Perhaps Browning can do his best Nick Foles/Jeff Hostetler act, but it seems unlikely. However, after the past couple games, the Bengals have a lot more hope due to the play of their previously unknown quarterback.

Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' playoff hopes: When the Atlanta Falcons scored with with 3:23 left on Sunday to take a 25-22 lead, the Buccaneers' shot of winning the NFC South was fading away. Regardless of how bad the NFC South is, someone has to win it and make the playoffs. With a loss, the Buccaneers would have been two games behind the Falcons and lost the tiebreaker.

But Mayfield had a season-saving drive, taking the Buccaneers on a 12-play, 75-yard march that was capped with a Cade Otton touchdown catch to give the Buccaneers a 29-25 win. It was a great moment for a quarterback who has been dismissed and discarded and signed a cheap one-year deal with the Buccaneers just to get another shot to be an NFL starter.

The Buccaneers, Falcons and New Orleans Saints are all 6-7, tied atop the division. It's a weird race, but there's a lot of intrigue after the Bucs' dramatic win.

Chicago Bears, because of the Carolina Panthers: The Panthers seem to be a near lock to get the first pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, thanks in part to the Pittsburgh Steelers. And the Bears will benefit because they own that pick, thanks to the Panthers' Bryce Young trade.

The Steelers took back-to-back losses to the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots, the two other teams realistically in play for the top pick. But the Panthers keep losing, dropping a 28-6 game to the Saints that is a continuation of a miserable season.

The Panthers are 1-12 and every other team in the NFL has at least three victories. The chances of the Panthers winning at least two more games the rest of the season seem very long. Their remaining schedule is: Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, at Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay. They probably won't win another before next season.

Lamar Jackson's MVP case: For Jackson to win MVP, the Baltimore Ravens probably need to have the No. 1 seed in the AFC at the end of the season and Jackson needs a few more big moments.

Sunday was great for Jackson in that regard. Jackson led a drive in the final two minutes that ended on Zay Flowers' go-ahead touchdown catch on a nice throw from Jackson. The Rams tied it to send it to overtime but Tylan Wallace returned a punt return for a touchdown and the Ravens beat the Los Angeles Rams 37-31 in a thriller.

It wasn't a great game for the Ravens, but the Rams are well coached, in the playoff race themselves and the Ravens came out with the win in the end. Jackson threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns on a day Baltimore needed every point the offense provided. Any unexpected loss will be bad in a tight race for the AFC's top seed and the Ravens avoided that, due in large part to Jackson with a big finish from the special teams.

LOSERS

Bills-Chiefs officials: A couple hours after Browns defensive end Myles Garrett went off on NFL officials, calling the officiating in his game a “travesty,” all anyone will be talking about after the Buffalo Bills’ 20-17 win is a couple of calls that went against the Chiefs.

The Chiefs had a touchdown on a great lateral from Travis Kelce to Kadarius Toney wiped out because Toney was barely offsides before the snap. Then on third down, Bills pass rusher Von Miller appeared to line up offsides. Patrick Mahomes was screaming at the officials as the final seconds ran off the clock. Conspiracy theorists who whine every week that the Chiefs get all the calls must have been confused.

That controversy will obscure a good game and a huge win by the Bills. For another week, NFL officiating will be at least as big of a story as the games themselves.

Those who went to Vikings-Raiders: Any Las Vegas Raiders road game is a destination for opposing fans. Imagine flying all the way from Minneapolis to watch what can only loosely be termed “football” at Allegiant Stadium.

The Minnesota Vikings and Raiders were trying hard to put up the first 0-0 tie in the NFL since 1943. No game had ever gone into overtime with a 0-0 tie. It ended in a 3-0 Vikings win, and NFL Films might burn all the footage.

The Vikings benched ineffective quarterback Joshua Dobbs for Nick Mullens. While Minnesota’s offense didn’t turn into the 1984 Dolphins, the Vikings started moving the ball. They got into Raiders territory and with 1:57 the improbable happened: someone scored. Greg Joseph hit a field goal to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead. Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell threw an interception right after that and the Vikings held on for the win.

At least the Vikings fans got to see a win. Raiders fans couldn’t even say that.

Brandon Staley: You can't blame Staley for Justin Herbert getting hurt and missing the second half with an injured finger. But it's not like Herbert and the Los Angles Chargers did anything before he got hurt.

The Chargers lost 24-7 to the Denver Broncos and time has to be running out for Staley. The Chargers are too talented to be 5-8, injuries or not. It started poorly for the Chargers. They caught a huge break on a Broncos turnover deep in Los Angeles territory, but Staley decided to go for it on fourth-and-3 at the Broncos’ 6-yard line instead of taking the field goal. The pass was incomplete and the Chargers got no points. They wouldn’t score until the fourth quarter, when the Broncos led 17-0 and Easton Stick was in the game for Herbert.

The Chargers were 1-of-5 on fourth-down conversions, which fits how Staley’s decisions are either bad or never turn out. The Chargers are one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL and that isn’t going to turn around.

C.J. Stroud: He has been great as a rookie, but he's still a rookie. The Houston Texans' star QB had a horrible day, and it got worse when it ended early.

Stroud had just 28 passing yards into the final two minutes of the third quarter. It was raining and the New York Jets have a very good defense. The Texans are never going to win with Stroud playing like that. Then in the fourth quarter, Stroud got hit, his head hit the turf and he stayed down for a while. He was helped to the locker room with a concussion.

The 30-6 loss — which featured a surprising 301-yard, two-touchdown game from Zach Wilson's return to the starting lineup — was bad for the Texans in their quest to get a wild-card spot. It won't get easier if Stroud misses time, and the Texans have to consider the long term when figuring out when Stroud should return. It was a rough loss, in more ways than one.

The suddenly cold Detroit Lions: The Lions looked like one of the best teams in the NFL a month ago. They had a shot to steal the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Then they almost lost to the Chicago Bears, did lose to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving and then almost gave away a game against the New Orleans Saints a week ago.

The Lions' malaise continued Sunday. They lost to the Bears 28-13. Chicago completely outplayed Detroit. The Lions couldn't get much going on offense and the defense had all kinds of problems against Justin Fields.

The Lions had a three-game lead in the division before Sunday and should still be fine in that race. But the focus for the next few weeks has to be simply on figuring out what happened to that Lions team everyone was so impressed with early in the season.