Browns rookie quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is too busy staring into his playbook these days to look over his shoulder at 6-foot-6 former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco casting a large shadow behind him.
Besides, the epitome of pressure came for him last Sunday vs. the Steelers, when the Browns had second place in the AFC North on the line, Deshaun Watson counting on him to keep the playoff hopes alive in his absence, Nick Chubb in the house fresh off ACL surgery, and a horrible 28-3 loss to the Ravens in his first NFL start to wipe from everyone’s brain.
When Dustin Hopkins’ 34-yard game-winning field goal sailed through the uprights for the 13-10 victory, Thompson Robinson crouched to the turf while the tears spilled down his cheeks.
With chants of “DTR! DTR” reverberating through Cleveland Browns Stadium, he completed his first four passes on the 48-yard drive to set Hopkins up to move the Browns to 7-3, a half game behind the AFC’s No. 1 seed Ravens. The floodgates opened, and on his way off the field, he pumped his fists in joy while the stadium rocked.
“(It was) just realizing how far I’ve come and also where I’m trying to be at, but just trying to appreciate the moment,” he said.
It was so emotional that the signing of Flacco to the practice squad on Monday was just what he needed — a player who understood what he had just gone through, and fully grasps the intensity and physicality of an AFC North battle.
He didn’t have to describe the force of a T.J. Watt hit or the smoke that Cam Heyward brings. With Watson exiting stage left to undergo shoulder surgery in Los Angeles on Tuesday and then rehab out there for a month or so, Flacco brought a boatload of mentorship in the car he drove here from south Philly.
“Shoot, I mean, if y’all would’ve been inside my body to feel the pressure I felt when they were chanting my name, when I had everybody thinking about this game and the Steelers and how big that rivalry was, Joe coming in here is more of a blessing than anything,” Thompson-Robinson said. “I’m asking him a bunch of questions. We were chopping it up on ton of stuff (Wednesday) morning. He’s in the early meetings with us and me and P.J. (Walker) now, so it’s great, man. He’s fit in so well, and, like I said, I’ve only known him for just about a day with him being here. So I love Joe. It’s been awesome.
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