Joe Flacco Assesses Patriots Performance Following Bengals' 26-20 Loss

CINCINNATI — Joe Flacco rolled out another horrific performance for the Bengals on Sunday as the season cratered further to 3-8 overall with a 26-20 loss to the Patriots.

Flacco posted an abysmal stat line, leading the offense to one touchdown overall (19-37 for 183 yards, one score and one pick-six, 63.2 passer rating). Cincinnati has lost four consecutive games.

The pick-six was a massive swing point in a six-point loss.

"I mean, stuff happens throughout the course of the game. It's a shame. I feel bad about the pick six, but at the same time, I didn't see the guy," Flacco said. "It's one of those plays you want back. It's the simplest play in the world, play action. Look for Tee [Higgins]. Check it down. I gave Tee all the opportunities, and they just had the right coverage on. Like I said, you don't draw it up like that. When that happens, it's one of the simplest plays in football. So those are gonna hurt you."

Cincinnati has no realistic path to the postseason as they get set to miss out on the next round of NFL football for the eighth time in the past 10 seasons.

Flacco played well over his first few games as a Bengal, but like so many backup quarterbacks, his heater has come to a screeching halt, with turnovers and terrible consistency over the past two losses.

The reported plan is for Cincinnati to roll out Joe Burrow this Thursday night against the Ravens as the star quarterback pushes to play football this season, even if it's meaningless.

Cincinnati went through a bunch of injury issues on Sunday and didn't have Ja'Marr Chase due to suspension.

"The good thing with my situation is, listen, I played a lot of football, and I probably wasn't going to practice a lot this week anyway," Flacco said about Burrow's pending return. "I might have got a couple reps on Thursday that wouldn't have ended up mattering that much. So now that's just part of this business getting ready for a game, and each week presents its different challenges. And you know, Joe is trying to feel out his body and get back on the field. So that's part of what you have to deal with."

Cincinnati turns around quickly to face the Ravens on Thursday night.

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