While everyone assumes that the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens are on a collision course to play in Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas, there is growing excitement in Cleveland surrounding the playoff-bound Browns, who have won four straight games. Much of their recent success is attributed to quarterback Joe Flacco's impressive play.
Obviously, Kyle Shanahan hasn't watched a lot of Flacco's performances this season, as the 49ers haven't had to prepare for the Browns. The head coach has done his homework on the veteran quarterback in the past, though. Flacco visited with the 49ers during the 2021 offseason but eventually signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, who later traded him to the New York Jets.
"I don't think people have ever given Flacco enough credit for his whole career," Shanahan said Thursday on Bay Area radio station KNBR's "Tolbert and Copes" show. "I think he's been one of the better quarterbacks of the last 20 years. I thought he was unbelievable in Baltimore.
"He's a guy that we tried to get here two years ago, hard, before he went to the [Eagles and then the] Jets. Flacco has always been that type of thrower. He's always been tough hanging in the pocket. He's got elite arm talent and he's a smart guy who's been around a lot systems.
"His skill set never left. It's just sometimes you don't get that opportunity, you're not a starter anymore, you don't get in the best situation. But it has always kind of blew my mind on a number of places that he was going to be available at this time of year because he's always had some unbelievable talent. He's put on a lot of good stuff on tape, and that talent, obviously, is still there."
Of course, 49ers fans remember Flacco well. He was part of the Ravens team that beat the 49ers in Super Bowl 47.
Flacco is in his 16th NFL season. He has completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 1,616 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions through five games this season and is 4-1 as a starter with the Browns.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.