{"id":35727,"date":"2025-10-17T23:30:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T23:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=35727"},"modified":"2025-10-17T23:31:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T23:31:09","slug":"breaking-news-joe-flaccos-biggest-gifts-to-the-bengals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=35727","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING NEWS : Joe Flacco\u2019s biggest gifts to the Bengals"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
CINCINNATI (WXIX) – As the Cincinnati Bengals\u2019 players and coaches try to explain what Joe Flacco has meant to the team, the superlatives start pouring in.<\/p>\n

Geno Stone calls Flacco \u201cThe Super Bowl MVP,\u201d which Flacco won during the 2012 season. Ted Karras calls Flacco a Hall of Famer. Al Golden compares Flacco to Hannibal Lecter.<\/p>\n

Despite the descriptions and despite Flacco\u2019s 342 passing yards against a terrific Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 defense in a Bengals\u2019 win on Thursday night, Flacco actually isn\u2019t the best quarterback in the NFL. But the team isn\u2019t asking Flacco to carry the Bengals on his back.<\/p>\n

What the Bengals need from their 40-year-old quarterback is to stay steady and keep every individual confident that they\u2019re in a position to be the best version of themself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s consistency,\u201d Andrei Iosivas said. \u201cTaking what\u2019s there. Starting off strong. He\u2019s just so knowledgeable and so calm in the huddle. You gravitate toward his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the Bengals had Flacco, this team\u2019s confidence was shot. The offense couldn\u2019t get a first down, so the defense had to be on the field for what felt like hours. That unit was gassed. Jake Browning was taking self-inflicted sacks, which reflected poorly on the offensive line. Chase Brown had nowhere to run. Since the Bengals weren\u2019t moving the ball, drives were short. There weren\u2019t enough plays for the wide receivers and tight ends to all get their typical allotment of targets.<\/p>\n

Everyone looked bad.<\/p>\n

It got so tough to watch that the Bengals acquired Flacco in the most aggressive in-season trade in the history of the franchise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he first got here in the building, there was an energy shift. Everyone knows what type of quarterback he is,\u201d Stone said. \u201cHe has proven it many times. When he got here, he changed the whole building. Everyone\u2019s mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n

The situation was so bleak that when the Bengals traded for Flacco last Tuesday, Zac Taylor told him right away that he\u2019d be starting five days later in Green Bay. It was a huge ask. Flacco didn\u2019t even know everybody\u2019s names, let alone the language of the Bengals\u2019 complex offense. As experience as he was, the biggest concern for Flacco\u2019s Bengals\u2019 debut was his ability to call the plays correctly.<\/p>\n

Flacco handled it all matter of factly. \u201cHe\u2019s a good leader amongst the storm,\u201d said left guard Dalton Risner, who also played with Flacco in Denver in 2019.<\/p>\n

The communication has been good between Flacco and his new teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not that guy where you\u2019re nervous to talk to him because you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re going to get from him,\u201d Amarius Mims said. \u201cSome quarterbacks are like that, I\u2019ve heard. Flacco is a great guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The communication with the coaching staff has also helped Flacco hit the ground running. Leading up to the Packers game, Flacco spent some extra time with Taylor, figured out what he needed to figure out and operated a very clean game in Green Bay. The second half against the Packers set the stage for the Bengals\u2019 breakout game on Thursday against the Steelers.<\/p>\n

Flacco is getting the ball out quickly and using his football IQ to get as much as he can out of the most talented skill position group in the NFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve really changed a lot schematically, but we\u2019ve definitely simplified our play calls,\u201d Chase Brown said. \u201cWhen we went to play Green Bay (last week), that was the lightest call sheet I\u2019ve seen. It was all Day 1 stuff that we all know how to execute and do with our eyes closed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of Flacco\u2019s 342 yards on Thursday weren\u2019t jaw dropping. They were quick outs to Ja\u2019Marr Chase, curls to Tee Higgins and check downs.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a lesson there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got Ja\u2019Marr (Chase) on an out route and they\u2019re off of him \u2014 just throw it,\u201d Flacco said. \u201c(It\u2019s) just the simple thing \u2014 it just goes back to the basics and not worrying about the result in the moment. Just playing the play getting our guys in position to go win it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also had his head-turning highlights, including game-changing deep balls to Higgins and Iosivas. But for the most part, Flacco took what the defense gave him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always what we\u2019ve hung our hat on, just trying to find ways to get those (skill) guys the ball,\u201d Taylor said. \u201c It\u2019s just a really effective way to live, and we\u2019ll try to build off that.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Flacco can handle a lot, getting any quarterback who just joined the team ready to play two games in 10 days has been one the biggest challenges that this coaching staff has faced. \u201cThere was a lot of time to drink a lot of coffee,\u201d Taylor said. The coaches had to teach Flacco the offense, come up with new game plans for a quarterback who they barely knew and also make corrections across an entire offense that had been playing poorly.<\/p>\n

Flacco had three practices leading up to the Green Bay game, and Chase missed two of them. Leading up to the Steelers game, the Bengals only had walkthroughs during a short week. Taylor estimates that Flacco has thrown five full-speed passes to Chase in practice over the last two weeks.<\/p>\n

Flacco said that the short week leading up to the Thursday Night game vs. the Steelers was an even bigger challenge because there wasn\u2019t as much time to get a feel for the rhythm of the play calls. Flacco and Taylor weren\u2019t on the same page a few times against the Steelers, and Flacco jokingly blamed Taylor\u2019s Oklahoman accent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just two 40-year-olds just communicating the best we can with each other,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

There were a handful of plays against the Steelers where the Bengals weren\u2019t lined up correctly. Flacco and the Bengals\u2019 standout skill position players made several of them work, which helped turn the game in the Bengals\u2019 favor. Flacco\u2019s first down run on a broken play will live on in Bengals\u2019 folklore.<\/p>\n

The coaching staff is also shining here. While the game plans have been simplified, the coaches have still introduced some wrinkles. They\u2019ve adjusted the run game. They keep coming up with new ways to get Chase open. The seam ball to Iosivas over the middle \u2014 a play that Flacco had only banked one half-speed practice rep \u2014 was the perfect response when the Steelers double-teamed both Chase and Higgins on a key third down.<\/p>\n

The wildest wrinkle of them all resulted in a 29-yard touchdown catch for Tee Higgins in the second quarter.<\/p>\n

On the play, Flacco lined up under center and dropped straight back without faking a handoff. It was a non-play action under center pass.<\/p>\n

The Bengals never do this.<\/p>\n

Those plays are straight out of a different era of football and have fallen out of style. But Flacco is from a different era of football. The Bengals installed an eight-play package of non-play action under center passes for the Steelers game, and then ran three of those plays against the Steelers. Taylor credited Dan Pitcher for the idea.<\/p>\n

Because of Flacco\u2019s experience, arm strength and poise in situations that are new to him, he lets the coaches tap into their creativity. It\u2019s another group that Flacco\u2019s presence helps bring more out of.<\/p>\n

You can say the same thing about the Bengals\u2019 offensive line, which kept Flacco upright in a matchup against one of the best pass rushes in the NFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe has been doing this for 18 years,\u201d Amarius Mims said. \u201cI know where he\u2019s going to be setting up at. I know where he wants to go. I\u2019m just blocking and letting him make plays for our athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of these groups gain more confidence as they watch Flacco execute. And now, the 3-4 Bengals feel alive again in the AFC North race.<\/p>\n

Now, after a 10-day crash course in the Bengals\u2019 offense, Flacco and the Bengals\u2019 coaching staff get a chance to catch their breath.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Flacco) did a great job of taking it all in,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cNow with a full week, a full normal week here coming up with the extra day on Monday as well, I think it will be really helpful and it will really slow down. We can hone in on what he continues to do best and keep featuring that.\u201d<\/p>\n

2025 WXIX<\/i><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joe Flacco’s impact on the Bengals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cincinnati-bengals"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING NEWS : Joe Flacco\u2019s biggest gifts to the Bengals - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=35727\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING NEWS : Joe Flacco\u2019s biggest gifts to the Bengals - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Joe Flacco's impact on the Bengals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=35727\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-17T23:30:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-17T23:31:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cincin-35.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrKen\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=35727\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=35727\",\"name\":\"BREAKING NEWS : Joe Flacco\u2019s biggest gifts to the Bengals - 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