Bengals Face Challenges as Flacco Deals with Injury
The Cincinnati Bengals are currently navigating a tough stretch in the NFL season, marked by a disappointing loss and an injury to their quarterback, Joe Flacco. The 40-year-old signal-caller is dealing with a shoulder injury that has raised concerns about his availability for upcoming games. On Sunday, the Bengals will host the Chicago Bears, who also feel they should have come away with a win from their previous match.
The Bears, who entered the week with a four-game winning streak, saw their momentum halted with a 30-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. This game was notable because the Ravens were without their starting quarterback, Lamar Jackson, for the third consecutive game. Meanwhile, the Bengals suffered a heartbreaking defeat against the New York Jets, blowing a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter and losing 39-38.
For the Bengals, a win is crucial if they want to stay in the race for the AFC North. However, there are worries about Flacco's health, as he sustained an injury to the AC joint in his throwing shoulder during the second half of the game against the Jets. Flacco did not participate in practice on Wednesday and was limited on Thursday. Despite this, head coach Zac Taylor remains confident in his quarterback, provided he is healthy enough to play.
Flacco has shown resilience throughout his career, including when he made his first start for the Bengals just five days after being traded from Cleveland. He led the team to victory in his second game, which took place on a Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers after another short week. Taylor believes that Flacco is capable of performing well even with minimal practice time.
Key Players and Strategies
The Bengals are relying heavily on Flacco while star quarterback Joe Burrow recovers from toe surgery. Taylor expects Flacco to do everything possible to be ready for the game. "I think if anybody in this league can get by on minimal reps right now, it’s him," Taylor said. He highlighted Flacco's ability to adapt quickly, citing instances where the quarterback showed up with little knowledge of the offense but still managed to lead the team to success.
In his three starts with the Bengals, Flacco has posted impressive stats, including a 100.1 passer rating, a 64.3% completion rate, and seven touchdowns with no interceptions.
On the other side, the Bears are counting on Caleb Williams, who will make his 25th NFL start on Sunday. The second-year quarterback has been a key player for the team, completing 18 passes of 25-plus yards this season, which ranks second in the league. Wide receivers Rome Odunze and Olamide Zaccheaus each had seven receptions in their last game.
Williams and the Bears are looking to improve their performance in the red zone, where they have had 19 trips inside opponents' 20-yard line over the past five games, resulting in seven touchdowns and nine field goals. The Bengals' defense has allowed a touchdown on 70.3% of these opportunities, the third-highest rate in the league.
Chase's Streak and Defensive Struggles
Ja’Marr Chase has been a standout performer for the Bengals, recording at least 10 catches in three straight games, a feat that is unprecedented in franchise history. The fifth-year All-Pro leads the league with 70 receptions, including 38 in the past three games. If he reaches double digits against the Bears, he would join Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson as the only players to achieve this in four consecutive games.
Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen praised Chase's performance, noting that the Bengals often target him despite heavy coverage. "When you watch the tape, especially over the last few weeks, they’re feeding some targets to him. There’s times I look on the tape, I’m like, ‘There’s two dudes draped all over him and they’re still throwing the ball to him’, so they have a lot of confidence in what he can do," Allen said.
Turnover Battle and Run Defense Issues
Turnovers have been a critical factor in the Bears' success, as they have recorded an NFL-best 16 takeaways. Defensive back Kevin Byard III is tied for the league lead with four interceptions. The Bears have three or more takeaways in each of their wins but have only managed one in their three losses.
The Bengals have not committed a turnover in their past three games, which highlights their strong defensive performance. "I think that shows as a defense right now when we get takeaways, we win the ballgame," Byard said. "We have to play cleaner football. But, we know the recipe for, at least on the back end, we take the ball away. So just doing everything we can to try to get the ball. That’s always on our mind, so that’s been a discussion."
The Bengals have struggled with run defense, allowing four 100-yard games to running backs, their most in the first eight weeks of a season since 2007. Pittsburgh's Jaylen Warren and the Jets' Breece Hall both had over 100 yards in recent games. The Bengals are last in the league in run defense, allowing 151.9 yards per game.
Chicago's D'Andre Swift has 464 rushing yards and has scored a touchdown from scrimmage in four straight games. Bengals safety Geno Stone emphasized the importance of collective effort on the field, stating, "Honestly, it’s a collective effort. You can’t point one thing out. Everyone is on the field and has to do his job. The only thing I can say for the back end is (that), I think whenever we have the opportunity to have an open-field tackle, we just have to get them down. That’s really all it is — no matter if the run breaks — we just have to get them down and we can’t let them score."
