Joe Flacco is turning belief into reality, and the Bengals are suddenly looking dangerous in the process
Joe Flacco had a surgical game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on “Thursday Night Football.”
The Cincinnati Bengals snapped their four-game losing streak with a 33-31 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The win moves Cincinnati to 3-4 on the year, somehow comfortably in second place in the AFC North, and 2-0 in the division with a mini-bye week next on the agenda.
33 points for the Bengals would’ve seemed like a fantasy a few weeks ago. When Joe Burrow’s turf toe took him out of the picture for the next few months, the offense spiraled into the gutter. Jake Browning couldn’t muster a single first-half touchdown in any of his three starts. No defensive player coordinator in the league had an ounce of respect for Cincy’s rushing attack. Life without Burrow was but a nightmare.
And then Joe Flacco entered the picture, and that nightmare looks more and more like a dream.
Flacco lost his first start mere days after being traded to the Bengals following Browning’s third start, but signs of life were found late in the defeat to the Green Bay Packers. Four days later, on the night of Cincinnati’s only primetime home game, Flacco picked up right where he left off and brought the Bengals one game closer to .500 with 342 yards and three touchdowns through the air.
Cincinnati believed a different QB could be the answer. Nine days after an uncharacteristic move from a risk-adverse franchise, Flacco is showing just how right the decision-makers inside Paycor Stadium were.
Joe Flacco is paying off in a big way for the Bengals
The vision for this Bengals team was simple. Burrow would look to replicate his 2024 campaign as best as he could while the defense would get marginally better. That vision was thrown through a loop when Burrow only lasted five quarters and some change. Without a competent signal-caller to take advantage of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and the rest of Burrow’s supporting cast, Cincinnati became a lifeless team without an identity.
When the trade for Flacco became a reality, a new hope for that vision was reborn. Flacco could come in an raise the floor of the offense by avoiding mistakes and putting the ball on target more often than Browning.
I just refuse to believe anyone thought what happened Thursday night was the immediate expectation.
Flacco was surgical against the Steelers. He took advantage every time Chase or Higgins had inside leverage with easy completions off slant routes. Deep passes against one-on-one coverage were thrown right on time with the right amount of touch. He did this all despite admitting to not knowing what some of the calls coming from head coach Zac Taylor were. That’s how he ended up keeping a zone read to himself for a first down run that surprised everyone watching the game.
The man was feeling himself in his 202nd regular season game. With that experience comes confidence, even in situations where only so much preparation can take place.
Cincinnati does not win this game without Flacco playing as well as he did. Sure, spamming Chase the ball over 20 times seems like a simple gig, but the reason why the 40-year old is running the show now is because the job was too big for the guy he replaced.
It also can’t be understated how odd this all feels from a Bengals perspective. Midseason trades were already a complete rarity for the club. Midseason trades that make the team significantly better? Pure mythology.
And yet, Bengals fans made sure the folks in Cleveland know how grateful they are for the Browns agreeing to trade Flacco for a late-round NFL Draft pick swap.
Cincinnati made an aggressive move to fulfill its vision, to act on its belief. Flacco was the answer to a problem seemingly too big to be solved with the season already underway and fading fast.
He’s turning that belief into a reality, and the rest of the league may want to take notice.
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