Cincinnati Bengals postgame wrap| What went wrong in loss to Jets
Enquirer beat writer Kelsey Conway breaks down what went wrong in the Bengals’ loss to the Jets on Oct. 26.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco is dealing with a sprain in the AC joint of his throwing shoulder, but barring a setback over the next few days he is expected to play against the Chicago Bears.
The Bengals’ 40-year-old quarterback practiced in a limited capacity on Oct. 30. Flacco addressed his injury status on Oct. 31 in a press conference with the local media in Cincinnati.
“I’ve never really talked about injuries before, so I don’t know what to say. I feel good,” Flacco said.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor cautiously answered questions about his plans for Flacco because the team needs to make sure his injury doesn’t get worse over the next two days. However, Taylor said he feels good about what he saw from Flacco during practice on Oct. 30 and if he’s able to play on Sunday, he will.
“I thought he did a nice job out there,” Taylor said. “I saw what we would hope to see for a guy to be able to play on Sunday. Now we’ll just work through the next few days to see where it ends up.”
The Bengals gave all of the starting quarterback reps to Jake Browning in practice on Oct. 29 and Oct. 31 to ensure if Flacco is unable to go, Browning is ready.
Taylor praised the professionalism of Flacco and Browning in the way they handled the week.
Flacco said it was important to him to practice at least one day this week so he could tell if he could throw.
“I feel pretty good,” Flacco said. “You don’t want to assume you’ll be able to throw and not really know. I wanted to go out there this week and feel good about what was going on.”
The Bengals will hold a walk-through on Nov. 1 and let Flacco go through his usual warmup prior to the game on Nov. 2 before making a final decision. But if Flacco doesn’t suffer a setback, all signs point to him playing through his injury and starting for the Bengals.
Coming off a tough loss to the New York Jets and sitting at 3-5 with one game to go before the bye week, the Bengals need Flacco in order to beat the Bears. The trade for Flacco and what he’s done since he arrived in Cincinnati is the main reason the Bengals’ season is still alive.
Flacco and Taylor were pleased with the response of the team this week in practice.
“It’s tough,” Flacco said of practice following a loss. “I honestly feel like in spite of that, we’ve had a good week mentally and physically. I think guys have been champing at the bit to get back out there. And I think it’s shown in a positive way. I think there’s been a lot of energy, and practices have had some good tempo to them, and I think that’s a good sign.”
Flacco suffered the injury in the Bengals’ Week 8 loss to the Jets. On Oct. 29, Taylor said his starting quarterback’s availability was 50-50. According to Flacco, he never let his mind think about not playing.He approached the week with the mentality that he was going to do everything he could to play, and if he was unable to do so, he would deal with it at that moment.
“I think that was always the mindset — just getting to the point where I can and working toward that,” Flacco said. “I think with this specifically, it was always going to come down to if (I) just can’t. But I think mindset-wise, until I just know I can’t.”
In three starts for the Bengals, Flacco has completed 81 passes for 784 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. The team scored 33 points against Pittsburgh and 38 points against the Jets.