Joe Flacco Has More Playoff Wins Than Your Favorite Quarterback
If you look through the NFL’s history books, you’ll find that 11 quarterbacks have won 10+ playoff games. And if you look to the bottom of the 11, you’ll find a two-way tie with ten. Aaron Rodgers and… JOE FLACCO have each won 10 times in the postseason in their careers.
If your favorite quarterback isn’t named Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, John Elway, Ben Roethlisberger, Brett Favre, Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, or Roger Staubach, Flacco has more playoff wins than they do.
Of all the QB’s on the list with double-digit wins, there is no question that he is an outlier.
Joe Flacco Has Never Lost His First Playoff Game
Joe Flacco has been in the NFL postseason six times in his career, all with the Baltimore Ravens during his 11-year-run as starting QB. The years where Baltimore didn’t have a bye week, they advanced to the divisional round. And the years where they did have a bye, they never failed to reach the AFC Championship.
It’s very rare for any QB to never lose their first playoff game in a given year. We saw Tom Brady do that just last year, his final in New England. We saw several occasions through Peyton Manning’s storied career where the exit was immediate. And it’s been early exits for a few consecutive years for Drew Brees.
Flacco wasn’t usually a game-changing QB for the Ravens, but a steady presence. He has thrown 10 interceptions in his playoff career on 447 attempts, giving him an average of nearly 45 passes per pick. He amassed 25 touchdown passes, a career postseason passer rating of 88.6.
The year where Flacco turned into one of the best QB’s in the world for a month-long stretch, he was sacked just six times. Flacco didn’t throw a single interception, and fired 11 TD passes en route to helping the Ravens become NFL champs for the second time in franchise history.
It’s Gotta Be the Arm
There have always been plenty of knocks on Flacco’s game. But one thing that everyone synonymously agreed on was that he could throw the prettiest deep ball in the league. There is not a QB you’d be more scared of when they’re throwing 50-60 yards downfield than Flacco. Joe’s arm strength was incredible.
And that’s how the team rallied to beat Denver and make it to the AFC Championship in 2012. The ball was at the Ravens 30-yard-line and Joe let one rip. Jacoby Jones beat his man and caught it, running the rest of the way into the end zone. They would win the game in overtime, before going to win in Foxboro the next week.
We just saw Baker Mayfield throw the longest recorded ball in NFL history during his failed attempt at a hail mary against Baltimore a few weeks ago. But, it wasn’t completed. Other quarterbacks in today’s game have proven arm strength, but nobody is able to do it with the accuracy of Flacco, consistently.
Quarterbacks with Fewer Playoff Wins than Joe Flacco
Russell Wilson has been great during his run with the Seahawks. But he’s won just nine playoff games in his storied career to date. That might change soon, but for the time being, he’s still below Joe.
Eli Manning, who won two Super Bowls, has just eight playoff wins in his career. Mighty Steve Young is tied with Eli, Drew Brees, Dan Marino, and Jim Plunkett with that total.
Continuing down the list, Ken Stabler won seven playoff games, Joe Theismann, Phil Simms, Bob Griese, Johnny Unitas, and Fran Tarkenton all won six.
Joe Namath, believe it or not, has just the two playoff wins from the magic of 1968.
So, if your favorite quarterback wasn’t named in the first paragraph, they have fewer playoff wins than Joe Flacco. Don’t forget it.
