He’ll have only five days to get ready, but veteran quarterback Joe Flacco — who was acquired via trade with the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday — is the Cincinnati Bengals’ desired starter for Sunday’s visit to play the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Browns, who benched Flacco last week, agreed to send the 40-year-old quarterback to a division rival in exchange for a draft pick swap. The Bengals lost Joe Burrow to a toe injury in Week 2 and are desperate for better, more reliable quarterback play after backup Jake Browning threw eight interceptions in four games and struggled in back-to-back-to-back blowout losses over the last three weeks.
Flacco started the first four games for the Browns but was benched after a 24-point loss to the Detroit Lions, who just beat the Bengals by 13 points in Cincinnati last week. Flacco has nearly 200 regular season starts in his career, but it will be a mental challenge to arrive in Cincinnati on Tuesday, learn the basics of a new offense and digest enough of a game plan to be in a position to play Sunday, just five days later.
“Joe is an experienced quarterback with a history of winning,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said in a press release Tuesday. “He is a leader with a skill set that will fit our personnel well. He is a gifted passer with a strong arm, and we are excited to have him on our team.”
Flacco was the quarterback for the Browns’ 13-10 win over the Packers in Week 3, but he wasn’t a driving factor in the victory. He completed 21 of 36 passes for only 142 yards, averaging a season-low 3.9 yards per attempt, and he took two sacks and threw an interception without a touchdown pass. The Browns’ only touchdown drive went four yards after Jordan Love threw an interception in the fourth quarter.
Over four starts, Flacco completed 58.1 percent of passes, averaged 5.1 yards per attempt and threw only two touchdown passes against six interceptions, the third-most interceptions thrown by a player in the NFL this season. By success rate, Flacco ranks 32nd out of 33 qualified quarterbacks this season. By passer rating, Flacco ranks dead last.
Browning ranks 31st in both success rate and passer rating.
The Bengals, who have struggled to run the football and protect the passer in obvious passing situations, are hoping a veteran quarterback can stabilize the offense and keep the team afloat while Burrow recovers. The Packers will hope a second chance at beating Flacco ends much differently than Week 3 and Sunday results in a comfortable win over a struggling but uncommon opponent.
Kickoff from Lambeau Field is scheduled for 3:25 p.m. CT on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Who will Packers face at QB for Bengals? Report says Cincinnati wants Joe Flacco
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
