It’s been 11 years since Joe Flacco took home Super Bowl MVP.
At 39 years old, he took home his first piece of hardware since, winning Comeback Player of the Year at NFL Honors.
Flacco’s revival with the Cleveland Browns captured the country’s attention, particularly in Baltimore, where there are still legions of Flacco supporters.
“I want to say thank you to the organization for just giving me the opportunity to do what I love to do, and that’s play football,” Flacco said. “And I want to say thank you to the city, just for making me and my family feel at home for a couple months. Truly special.”
Flacco narrowly won over Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, 151-140. Though Hamlin had 21 first-place votes to Flacco’s 13, the quarterback had 26 second-place votes to Hamlin’s seven.
When Flacco was listed as a finalist, he felt the honor was deserved by someone else.
“My initial thought is, I’m just coming back from, what, being old and not being on a team for a couple months?” Flacco quipped on CBS Sports Radio’s “Zach Gelb Show.”
Flacco was on the couch until Cleveland signed him on Nov. 19 following Deshaun Watson’s season-ending shoulder injury. He was soon made the team’s starter and won four straight games down the stretch to lead the Browns to the playoffs.
From Weeks 13-17, no quarterback in the NFL threw for more yards than Flacco (1,616). That, plus his 13 touchdowns, were both the most in NFL history by a quarterback who made his debut in the final six games of a season.
The Ravens and Browns didn’t end up meeting in the playoffs on what seemed like a destined collision course, as Flacco’s dream comeback ended with two pick-six interceptions in a 45-14 wild-card playoff loss to the Houston Texans.
However, Flacco and 2023 MVP Lamar Jackson, the man who followed Flacco in Baltimore and replaced him as the team’s starter in 2018, did meet backstage in Las Vegas.
“He had another awesome season, won a ton of games,” Flacco said of Jackson. “The city has a lot to be excited about and that was such a big part of my life. Every time I’ve been around Lamar, he’s just been a hard worker, great guy, tough. I saw him back there and wanted to congratulate him. It was good to see him.”