Not only was he shuffling to a new team but he would be expected to learn the offense quickly enough to start five days later when the Bengals play at Green Bay.
This “chaotic” week had Flacco’s head spinning, he said. Another move within the AFC North wasn’t on Flacco’s list of things he thought would happen, but “it’s a crazy business” and he just wants to play.
Fortunately, it’s not his first rodeo. The 40-year-old in his 18th NFL season has seen just about everything a defense could throw at him and he’s been around long enough that even new terminology in the offense has familiarity. Just three weeks ago, he was preparing for the same Packers defense he will face Sunday.
“I think my personality probably ends up helping me here, but you just kind of have to go with it and embrace whatever it is and meet it head on,” Flacco said Friday in his first news conference as the Bengals starting quarterback. “Also, when you’re in these situations, it’s a good reminder of the fact that we get to play a game for a living. It makes it almost a little bit easier to not make it bigger than it actually is.”
Flacco studied the offense during his ride down from Cleveland in a Bengals-provided car service, he applied it in practice and extra walkthroughs and coach Zac Taylor hovered a little more than usual to make sure he was going through calls and personnel correctly in the huddle.
Taylor has practically lived at Paycor Stadium this week trying to make sure he is putting Flacco in the best position possible to succeed.
During his time back at the hotel he and his wife are staying at, Flacco has been pouring over the playbook even more, reading it, saying calls out loud, repeating them again and again. Normally, his wife is not involved in his game preparation, but this week, she’s reading the base game plan out loud for him to repeat. Flacco noted she even had a decent rhythm to what it would sound like in the huddle.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The wide receivers lingered after practices to keep working through routes and timing. The 48 hours before gametime will be critical in determining what needs taken out of the gameplan, if there are things Flacco isn’t comfortable enough to run.
Flacco said he’s trying his best to “keep it simple” and just do what needs done to get a win.
“Ultimately, you think you can kind of have it by looking at it (the play call), but you have to go out there and do it,” Flacco said. “So, I would say trial by fire is ultimately how you end up learning. You have to go out there and call it and visualize it. It’s one thing to see the call written out. It’s another thing to see the picture. Another thing to go out there and actually say it and do it.”
Flacco feels like he has something to prove with Cincinnati, his second chance in 2025 to be a starter after he was benched ahead of the Browns’ Week 5 game in London. He was 1-3 in four starts with the Browns, throwing two touchdowns and six interceptions.
The Bengals, needing a spark following three straight losses, thought he was the best fit for their offense, and Flacco was glad to hear they felt that way despite how he started the season.
“I did not play as well as I wanted to and feel like I’m capable of,” Flacco said. “Excited about the opportunity to go out and do that.
“I didn’t take care of the ball as well as I wanted to. A couple unfortunate interceptions turn into other ones that you did make mistakes on. You just kind of get stuck in that. That’s probably the thing that stands out. I think this is a great opportunity to get back out there and prove the opposite.”
Flacco said if he can’t throw to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins -- “two of the best in the world at what they do” – and get on the same page with them, then he’s in trouble. Any quarterback would be, and that proved the case with Jake Browning for whatever reason the last three games, and Flacco shared empathy for him after being in that same position two weeks ago.
It’s still early enough in the season, Flacco hopes he can make a difference in keeping the Bengals in playoff contention. He’s still playing the game at age 40 because he still feels like he has “a lot to offer to a football team,” and he won’t take for granted this new opportunity.
“That’s what I play for is to win football games and help everybody be at their best,” Flacco said. “And I hope I can come in here and give these guys my best and elevate us as much as I possibly can, and see if we can win a few football games.”
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