Division rivalries are the best part of being an NFL fan. Perhaps no other division has spicier rivalries than the AFC North. Look at what Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin said after their rivals Cleveland Browns traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals, another AFC North team.
“(Browns GM) Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me or us because it doesn’t make sense to me to trade a QB you think enough of to make your opening-day starter to a division opponent that’s hurting in that area,” Tomlin told reporters, per Ari Meirov. “But that’s just my personal feeling.”
Did Tomlin just sneak a diss at the Browns? Was he also taking a subtle shot at the Bengals? Whatever Tomlin's intent was, Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase doesn't really care either way. When asked about Tomlin's comments about his new quarterback, Chase didn't have much to say.
““[I don’t really care about what he said],” Chase said, per Arye Pulli. “It’s not really negative or positive at the end of the day.”
Chase also siad that after seeing the clip go viral, his first reaction was to scroll past it.
The Bengals traded for Joe Flacco after a series of unfortunate events that hurt the team. First, Joe Burrow suffered a severe turf toe injury during their Week 2 win. He was ruled out for the next three months of the season, at least. Jake Browning stepped in as the quarterback. Cincinnati was hoping that Browning could recreate some of his magic from the 2023 seaosn, when he was put in a similar situation with this team.
Unfortunately, Browning could not replicate his 2023 campaign. After three straight losses that saw the offense struggle, the Bengals decided to trade for Flacco, who was benched by the Browns earlier this month.
Flacco's first game for the Bengals was solid, all things considered. While they still lost to the Green Bay Packers, Flacco didn't put the ball in harm's way and piloted the offense nicely for a guy learning the playbook on the fly. The Bengals hope to get their first win in the Flacco era against the Steelers on Thursday night.
