The Chicago Bears are looking to improve to 5-3 this weekend, and they’ll have to do it in a Week 9 matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals were left for dead after losing four straight games after a 2-0 start, but have become competitive again after acquiring Joe Flacco in a trade with the Cleveland Browns.
At 40 years old, Flacco isn’t the same quarterback he was when he won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens. Nonetheless, he still is a threat that Chicago needs to monitor going into Sunday’s game.
That’s why when Flacco missed practice on Wednesday due to a shoulder injury, it raised the eyebrows of everyone wearing blue and orange. While Flacco’s absence would throw things up in the air and potentially give Chicago an easier matchup against Jake Browning, it appears they won’t be that lucky, as ESPN’s Ben Baby spotted Flacco practicing and “throwing ahead of stretches” on Thursday.
Rejuvenated Joe Flacco Could Be a Problem for the Bears on Sunday
Flacco began this season as the starting quarterback in Cleveland. The Browns pivoted to rookie Dillon Gabriel, though, when Flacco completed just 58.1% of his passes for 815 yards, two touchdowns, and six interceptions over four starts. The trade to Cincinnati revived the veteran, however, as he's completed 64.3% of his passes for 784 yards, seven touchdowns, and no interceptions in three games since putting on the stripes.
Throwing to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins is one way to start playing better, but Flacco has also performed well enough to help Cincinnati win games even though he’s lost two of his three starts. Flacco’s presence at practice does give the Bears an advantage, however, as now they’ll know which quarterback they’ll be facing on Sunday.
The Bears could use all the help they can get, given the way this season has played out. They’re tied with the Dallas Cowboys and the Bengals for the highest yards per play clip this season at 6.2, and their 26.4 points allowed per game ranks as the eighth-highest entering Week 9.
Things have gotten so quick that newly signed defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson was signed and will likely be manning the slot for Chicago on Sunday afternoon, so having an idea of who will be starting for the Bengals could be one less thing for Ben Johnson and his staff to worry about.