John Harbaugh says he was rooting against Joe Flacco with the Browns

John Harbaugh says he was rooting against Joe Flacco and the Browns in the 36-19 loss to the Rams

Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh addressed the media on Monday following the team’s Week 13 bye.

Harbaugh was asked what it was like seeing former Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco playing for the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

“I was rooting against Joe [Flacco] and the Browns,” Harbaugh said. “I think Joe’s cool. It’s cool what he did, [and] he looked really good, but I couldn’t root for him yesterday.”

In his first game of the season, the 38-year-old former Super Bowl MVP completed 23 passes for 254 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the Browns’ 36-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.

Flacco was signed to Cleveland’s practice squad late in November after starting quarterback Deshaun Watson was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Flacco reverted to the Browns’ practice squad following Sunday’s game against the Rams. On Monday, Cleveland Head Coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters that he is undecided on a starting quarterback for the upcoming Week 14 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Flacco spent 11 seasons as Baltimore’s starting quarterback after being drafted out of Delaware in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Flacco helped lead the team to a victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII — an excellent post-season performance that culminated in being named Super Bowl MVP.

Flacco’s last season with the Ravens was in 2018 when he was replaced by rookie first-round quarterback Lamar Jackson after an injury against the Pittsburgh Steelers knocked him out of the lineup. Baltimore traded Flacco to the Denver Broncos in 2019 for a fourth-round pick.