The 2023 NFL season has seen the AFC North go through a lot of turmoil at the quarterback position. The Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals, and Pittsburgh Steelers have all had to make changes at the position the season.
The Browns have had a particularly wid ride at the position this season, starting 4 different QBs. The most recent is Joe Flacco, who previously spent the majority of his career with the Ravens.
On the December 28th episode of Good Morning Football, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward compared Flacco joining another AFC North team to Anakin Skywalker’s turn to the dark side.
“I’d be very confused. Having those great rivalries and then having a guy that you’ve played all those times going over to the other side,” Heyward said. “It’s that Darth Vader thing. You put on that cloak, everybody starts treating you differently. If I ever saw any of my teammates go to Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and Baltimore willingly I think I’d have a problem with it.”
The move has been working out well for both Flacco and the Browns, but it sounds like we shouldn’t expect to see Heyward do the same if he ever ends up leaving the Steelers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Heated Rivalries
It isn’t surprising that Heyward would feel this way given the rivalries he’s seen with Steelers over his career.
Things have calmed down a bit recently, but there was a time in the past decade where the Steelers-Bengals rivalry was one of the most explosive in football thanks in large part to multiple incidents between Vontaze Burfict and members of the Steelers .
Of course, there was also the infamous incident where Myles Garrett swung a helmet at Mason Rudolph’s head back in 2019.
Meanwhile, it has been the Steelers and Ravens who have been battling for supremacy in the division for the majority of the past couple decades.
That hasn’t stopped former Steelers stars like Le’Veon Bell, James Harrison, and Mike Wallace from jumping over to AFC North rivals, but it will still always be strange to see their players move to a division rival.
Joe Flacco’s Upcoming Revenge Games
Not only did Flacco hop across the division this year, but he could also be busy getting revenge against his former teams over the next few weeks. We know for sure that he’ll get one matchup against a former team before the end of the regular season.
The Browns take on the New York Jets in Week 17’s Thursday night game. Flacco spent 3 years with the Jets across 2 stints with the team.
However, there is a chance that he gets a chance to play a much more meaningful revenge game in the playoffs.
If the season were to end today, the Browns would be the fifth seed in the AFC and would be slated to play the Jaguars in the first round. If they can get the win in that game, then they’d play the AFC’s top seed.
Right now, that’s the Baltimore Ravens.
We’ll just have to wait and see if Flacco can bring peace, freedom, justice, and security to his new empire with a 2nd round win or if it will be the Ravens with the high ground.
