It looked like the Chicago Bears had a clear vision for what to expect coming out of their bye week. First up will be the dangerous Washington Commanders in a rematch from last season. Then it’s a battle against New Orleans before their swing through the AFC North begins against the Baltimore Ravens. Among those games will be a showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals. On paper, that should’ve been a high-profile game against one of the league’s best quarterbacks. However, Joe Burrow went on the shelf for three months with turf toe. That left the offense in the hands of backup Jake Browning.
Things haven’t gone well. Across three starts, the embattled quarterback has six touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Bengals have lost three in a row. Their season is clearly slipping away. So in an act of desperation, they’ve decided to seek outside help. In a wild turn of events, they made a trade with the division rival Cleveland Browns for ageless veteran Joe Flacco. The 40-year-old will assume starting duties moving forward until Burrow gets back, hopefully with the season still alive
The Chicago Bears would be wise not to shrug off Flacco.
Yes, he’s 40 and nowhere near the quarterback he was a decade ago. However, he has already shown he can burn this team if they’re not careful. Chicago Bears fans would be wise to remember what happened in 2023 when the team coughed up a 17-7 lead in the 4th quarter, thanks to Flacco throwing for over 200 yards in the last 15 minutes. He can catch fire without any warning, and he’ll have plenty of weapons to work with in Cincinnati. The Bears must take this change seriously. The Bengals were already a tough team even without Burrow. Now they’ve at least managed to bandage their biggest weakness. Flacco isn’t anything special, but he’s a wily veteran who still knows how to sling the ball.
