Will Joe Flacco Give Bengals Much Needed Spark Against Packers?

CINCINNATI — Joe Flacco and the Bengals have two goals in mind for Sunday at Lambeau: Create plays on offense and upset the heavily favored Packers.

The path to doing just that though will be a difficult one, as it is unquestionably difficult for any quarterback to come in and start right away when they have not even been with a team for a week, that is exactly why this is a move that the Bengals should have made two weeks ago following the teams loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

All of that being said, it is not an impossible task to achieve. Flacco should immediately be able to find ways to get the ball into the hands of the Bengals playmakers like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the former is listed as questionable for Sunday after not practicing on Friday with an Illness, though Chase is expected to play.

While Flacco will assuredly be targeting Chase and Higgins early and often, expect plenty of targets to go to the likes if tight ends Mike Gesicki and Noah Fant, as Flacco has never shied away from targeting tight ends throughout his career and especially at this stage of it. Through four starts with the Cleveland Browns, tight ends David Njoku and rookie Harold Fannin Jr. both had 46 total targets for 31 receptions, and 288 yards, ultimately amounting to almost half of the teams 103 total targets through those four weeks that Flacco was the starter.

Expecting a perfect game from Flacco right out of the gate is highly unrealistic given the circumstances. The biggest thing to look for is for the offense to move with efficiency while the game still matters, and that is something that should be achievable with a veteran like Flacco at quarterback.

The biggest knock on Jake Browning was his inability to go through his progressions, something he struggled with even when given solid protection from the offensive line. That is a mistake that Flacco will not make, Flacco knows how to go through reads and handle a clean pocket, and while the concerns of his mobility and the offensive line are valid concerns, I expect Zac Taylor and Dan Pitcher to scheme up quick plays to Chase Brown and the tight ends for Flacco due to the presence of Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary on the Green Bay defense.

Victory may be difficult to claim on Sunday because of how talented the Packers defense is at all three levels, but if Flacco is able to bring some life to a Bengals offense that has looked empty for three straight weeks, then that is a major positive for Bengals team facing a quick turnaround for a major home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers less than four days later on Thursday Night Football.

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