The Cincinnati Bengals suffered their fourth loss in a row, this time at the hands of the Green Bay Packers in the debut of recently acquired Joe Flacco. The newest member in stripes had a solid day, going 29/45 with 219 yards passing, two touchdowns, and no interceptions in a 27-18 loss. The Bengals’ offense started sluggish but really picked up steam in the second half, where they began to establish a nice rhythm. Flacco was patient in picking his spots, and the offensive line gave him time on a combination of short to medium throws, as Cincinnati was consistently moving the ball well for the first time in four games. Even in defeat, it at least gives some momentum for a huge divisional matchup on Thursday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers. With 11 games left, the season isn’t on the line, but it sure feels close to that as the orange and black badly need a win.
Joe Flacco Has a Solid Debut for the Cincinnati Bengals
Working 1 to 5
Flacco, being the savvy veteran that he is, knows you have to get the ball to your playmakers in this league. He did exactly that on Sunday, spreading the wealth to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. WR1 would have the better day with 94 yards receiving on 10 catches, including one of the best you’ll see all season late in the fourth quarter.
This is one of the catches of the year. Just an Amazing play by Ja’Marr Chase pic.twitter.com/otZbhvIxx0
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) October 12, 2025
Higgins also found himself the beneficiary of some good throws by Flacco en route to a five-catch day with 62 yards receiving.
This gives head coach Zac Taylor something to build off of with the offense, and it was starting to open up running lanes for Chase Brown and Samaje Perine.
Settle In
In a game of two halves, again, the Bengals need to start faster if they are to have any chance to turn their season around. Flacco was upbeat after the game and had a positive outlook when he noted, “It’s tough to take 20 plays to score, but it was good to keep their defense on the field. It’s not like we ran for a ton of yards. But we had some pretty good runs for first-down conversions and, you could feel the physicality of us as the game went along. Yeah, I got settled. There were one or two times I could have taken the quicker.”
Look for the Bengals to ditch running the ball early moving forward, and use more of the short to intermediate routes to take pressure off the offensive line.
Silver Lining
The most important thing Flacco gave not only to fans, but also to the locker room, was hope on Sunday. While there are no moral victories in the NFL, it was a sight to see glimpses of what could be for an offense that badly needs an identity to hang its hat on. Flacco will continue to get better and more comfortable with the scheme and his targets, with all eyes on TNF to see if the men in stripes can salvage a season.
Main Photo: Tork Mason-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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