It's been tough sledding for the Cincinnati Bengals this year, who recently dropped a home game against the lowly New York Jets, giving New York its first win of the season in the process. The Bengals' season is all but lost at this point at two games below .500 and with no Joe Burrow return date in site.
Still, quarterback Joe Flacco, whom the team acquired from the Cleveland Browns to replace Jake Browning as Burrow's fill-in, has shown some resilience this year, and recently, head coach Zac Taylor got 100% real on his admiration of Flacco as he prepares to potentially play through an injury this week.
“He wasn’t here in the offseason. He wasn’t invested in our training camp. For him to come in it would be easy to make a decision there is no way I’m playing. I got an AC joint, got a bye week next week, let’s let this thing heal up,” said Taylor, per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “That has not been the communication he’s given to me at all. Ultimately, he might not be able to play, we may make that decision but for him just to want to put it out there for our team, himself, says he’s a football player that’s what he does, it certainly goes a long way with me.”
A strong effort from Joe Flacco
While he isn't doing a Joe Burrow impersonation, Joe Flacco has still shown a lot of heart this year for the Bengals, including taking a rushing touchdown into the endzone last week against the Jets, as well as turning back the clock for an epic performance in a recent win against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Overall, Flacco has mostly held up his end of the bargain since joining the Bengals, but the team's defense has still been a major issue as they look to stay afloat in the absence of Burrow.
The Bengals will next take the field on Sunday afternoon at home against the Chicago Bears. Kickoff is set for 1:00 PM ET.
