Joe Flacco confident stepping in as Bengals' starting quarterback against Packers

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CINCINNATI (AP) — New Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco said he wouldn’t still be playing at 40 years old if he wasn’t confident he could play at the level of a starter.

After the Bengals traded for him on Tuesday and immediately tabbed him as their starter, they’re counting on Flacco being correct.

“I think the best way for me to do it is just keep simple,” Flacco said. “I think a lot of the times when you’ve played a lot of ball, and when you’ve been around a lot of ball, you can get to the point where you overcomplicate things and you just, you’re just making things harder on yourself.

"So honestly, I think my experience, in this regard, is going to help me, in the sense that I don’t have all the answers. Just keep it simple.”

Flacco opened the year as the Cleveland Browns’ quarterback, but was benched last week for rookie Dillon Gabriel. The Bengals were looking for a quarterback following Joe Burrow’s toe injury in Week 2 and Jake Browning’s struggles the last three games.

That put the wheels in motion for a trade between the two AFC North rivals.

“A lot of the times when you’re going through things as a player, you just adapt,” Flacco said. “You go with it. I think with everything in life, when things happen to you, you’re like all right, how do we go forward? What’s the next step?”

Flacco’s next step has been learning a new offense on the fly. Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Flacco’s football IQ and professionalism have helped him hit the ground running. Flacco also faced this week’s opponent, the Green Bay Packers, when Flacco was with the Browns three weeks ago.

Flacco completed 21 of 36 passes for 142 yards with one interception and no touchdown passes in Cleveland’s 13-10 victory over the Packers on Sept. 21.

“You don’t want to just go get anybody, you want to get somebody you think fits our offense and complements our receivers well and has experience,” Taylor said. “A veteran guy who has real playing experience, bonus that he’s played in this division. His skill set complements our receivers and I think gives everybody a lift here after three losses.

“We’re trying to push through it and guys have done a great job of that, but I think this is just a lift of, ’Hey, we’re willing to do anything to go find a way to win.'”

Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is questionable for Sunday due to illness. He participated in the walkthrough, but was not present at the practice. Taylor didn’t elaborate further on Chase’s status for Sunday.

Flacco hasn’t had much time to gel with his new receivers, including Chase and Tee Higgins, but he said that can be overblown.

“You can’t overthink it,” Flacco said. “I know everything you like to talk about all that and the chemistry and everything. Those guys are two of the best in the world at what they do. If you can’t throw to them and get on the same page as them, then you are in trouble.”

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