The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t enter the season with plans of starting their third quarterback by Week 6, but that is the position they are in after trading for Joe Flacco amid Jake Browning’s struggles.
And Browning is “pissed” at himself for not taking advantage of the opportunity when Joe Burrow suffered a toe injury.
“Obviously, I’m pissed,” he told reporters Wednesday (35-second mark). “If I wasn’t pissed, then I shouldn’t be in this locker room. It’s important to me. I’m aware of the role I played in the offensive struggles over the last few weeks. But I’m also not shouldering the entire situation. I went through yesterday, watched my throws, tried to come up with some stuff I want to work on. I’m just doing that.”
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor announced Wednesday that Flacco, who is in his first week with the team after starting the year on the Cleveland Browns, will start Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.
While Flacco will be learning the Cincinnati offense on the fly, there is at least some familiarity with the opponent since he just led the Browns to a Week 3 win over the Packers.
Burrow is one of the best quarterbacks in the league and the surefire starter when healthy, but his injury drastically limited the ceiling of a team that entered the season with realistic playoff aspirations.Â
Cincinnati surely hoped Browning could keep the offense afloat by relying on weapons such as Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Chase Brown, but he is 0-3 in his starts with six touchdown passes to eight interceptions on the campaign.
The home fans loudly booed the offense during the most recent loss to the Detroit Lions, and it was clear the front office had to do something to salvage any hope of making the playoffs with Burrow sidelined.
Its response was to trade for the 40-year-old Flacco, who lost his starting job with the Browns to rookie Dillon Gabriel. And Flacco will immediately be put to the test against a strong contender from the NFC in the Packers.
It remains to be seen if it will work, but Browning’s play necessitated some type of change.
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