Bengals: After whirlwind debut, Joe Flacco finally gets time to breathe — and learn the offense

The Bengals acquired the veteran quarterback on Oct. 7 after they already had put the gameplan in place for that week’s game at Green Bay, but Flacco at least got the offense humming over the final two quarters and then found it earlier in the Week 7 win over Pittsburgh on Thursday Night Football.

Cincinnati (3-4) now looks to keep the rhythm going against a winless N.Y. Jets team that comes to Paycor Stadium on Sunday. The Bengals enjoyed a mini-bye over the weekend, and Flacco said it was “nice to be able to breathe” for a bit.

“We were just out on the practice field, and it feels like I’ve barely been there,” Flacco said on Wednesday, following the first practice of the week. “It’s good to get back into a normal rhythm of a Monday, Tuesday and now actually going out there on a Wednesday and feeling prepared.”

Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Monday’s walkthrough, an extra day on the field, was a chance to go over some of the basics the staff had skipped over when initially onboarding Flacco into the system.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

Flacco is grateful the coaches didn’t try to pile everything on him right away. Typically, an offense is installed in chunks over short periods of time throughout training camp, but he is trying to learn as much as possible on the fly. Now, Flacco said he feels like he has a good foundation, and he’s just adding little details here and there.

“Still learning and trying to pick up everything and just play as fast and smooth as I can,” Flacco said. “I’m going to try to keep my process the same and use these walkthroughs and the practice to get used to calling it and seeing it. Just try to keep it at a basic level and keep going from there.”

Taylor said Flacco has been consistent and never appears overwhelmed. Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher remains impressed with how he has handled everything, as well.

“He’s just been unflappable,” Pitcher said. “He’s walked in here, and it is almost like he walked in here and has known us for a decade. I think that is just the experience and having been in the biggest moments and lived so many highs and so many lows and a life in football. As cool as the other night was and as well as he is playing, it is a guy who started 215 games or whatever it is, he’s started a season’s worth of playoff football games. He’s seen it all, done it all. I think you just feel that from him. There’s very few people in the world that ever gain enough experience to actually live that. He’s in that category. So, to me, I think that’s probably the most impressive thing.”

Familiarity has been a theme of Flacco’s time with the Bengals so far, and that will be the case again this week, facing one of his former teams.

His first opponent with Cincinnati was one he had already faced with the Browns when he earned his lone win over the Packers, and the second, against Pittsburgh, was an AFC North rival he’s seen more than anyone else still active in the league – thanks to twice-a-year matchups during his stints with Baltimore and Cleveland.

Flacco spent parts of three seasons with the Jets in 2020-2022.

“I’ve been with a handful of these guys, and I have a lot of respect for the way they play the game,” Flacco said. “I know it’s probably tough there right now, but I know it’s a group that will come ready to play.”

Jets cornerback and former University of Cincinnati standout Sauce Gardner was one of the players on that 2022 roster that will now test Flacco, if he clears concussion protocol. Flacco said Gardner, a 2022 first-round draft pick, was a high-character addition, and “he’s big, he can run, can use his length, confident.”

Flacco had joined the Jets in 2020 as a backup to Sam Darnold, then signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021 before he was traded back to the Jets when they lost Zach Wilson to injury. He served as a backup to Mike White and Josh Johnson for his first three games back with the Jets, but relieved White in a Week 10 matchup with the Bills and ended up being named the starter the following week.

That only lasted one game, and he was back to a reserve role, finishing his time there 1-8 before departing for a Comeback Player of the Year stint with Cleveland in 2023.

“You remember the good and the bad,” Flacco said. “I remember driving home on the turnpike after losing a game and shaking my head and talking to my family like, you know, what the hell am I doing? This is not fun. But, man, I think most of the time when I look back at those times it’s, you know, being in the locker room with the Williams brothers and everybody else that I kind of got to play with in that organization. I don’t know if I necessarily enjoyed how everything went on the field there, but I’m super grateful for my time there. And it’s just one of those times in my career that you had to fight through some things and kind of get to the next step. But, a lot of great guys on that team and a lot of great memories with them.”

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