CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals have not committed a turnover since Joe Flacco took over as starting quarterback.
The last time the Bengals went back-to-back games without a giveaway was 2022 in 20-16 road win against the Titans and a 27-24 home triumph of the Chiefs.
The longest streak of the Joe Burrow era was a four-game run without a turnover down the stretch in 2021, which featured wins against the Broncos, Ravens and Chiefs and a meaningless Week 18 loss at Cleveland when the Bengals were resting their starters.
That stretch tied a franchise record first set from Weeks 2-5 in 1998.
Despite the lack of turnovers, the Bengals went 2-2 during that stretch.
If Flacco and the rest of the offense can avoid turning the ball over Sunday against the Jets, it will mark just the fifth time in franchise history they put together a streak of three consecutive games without a giveaway.
In addition to the two four-game stretches mentioned above, there are a pair of three-game streaks.
The first occurred in Week 4-6 in 2016, which saw the Bengals go 1-2 with a win against the Dolphins and losses to the Cowboys and Patriots.
The following year in 2017, the Bengals did it again, going three straight games without a turnover in Weeks 11-13.
That stretch included a 2-1 record with victories against Broncos and Browns and a loss to the Steelers.
If you’re wondering about the NFL record, we just saw it earlier this season.
The Chiefs went eight consecutive games without a turnover dating back to last year and through their Week 1 game against the Chargers this year.
That broke the Patriots’ record of seven in a row, which they set in 2010.
It’s now tied with the Chiefs for the longest single-season streak.
The Cowboys have the longest active streak at four games, while the Browns are right behind with three consecutive games without a turnover.
If Flacco an avoid throwing an interception Sunday against the Jets, one of his former teams, he will become the second quarterback in Cincinnati franchise history not to throw an interception in his first three starts for the team.
The only other quarterback to do it never started for the team again after those first three games.
It was AJ McCarron in 2015, after Andy Dalton suffered a season-ending broken thumb.
McCarron threw 83 passes in wins against the 49ers and Ravens a loss to the Broncos.
Flacco has thrown 92 passes in his two starts against the Packers and Steelers, meaning he has set a franchise record for more consecutive attempts without an interception to begin a Bengals tenure.
