Bengals have confidence with Flacco at quarterback. Now they need to work on quicker starts

Joe Flacco has given the Cincinnati Bengals a jolt of confidence after one start.

Next up on the to-do list is getting the Bengals (2-4) back on the winning track.

Flacco passed for 219 yards and two touchdowns in Cincinnati’s 27-18 loss at Green Bay on Sunday. Most of Flacco’s production came after the Bengals fell behind 10-0 at halftime.

The Bengals have been outscored 79-9 in the first half during their four-game skid and are one of three teams to not have a first- or second-quarter touchdown during that span.

“We want to win. We’re hungry for it. We got to do a better job from start to finish getting that done, but there’s a lot here,” coach Zac Taylor said Monday.

Making his first start after the Bengals got him in a trade with the Cleveland Browns, Flacco quickly established connections with star receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Chase had 10 receptions for 94 yards and a TD, while Higgins added five catches for 62 yards.

Flacco led the Bengals to two touchdowns and a field goal on the first three drives of the second half. The 40-year-old completed 21 of 30 passes for 179 yards after halftime.

The Bengals and Flacco also benefit from his first two opponents. He faced Green Bay three weeks earlier, when he was with Cleveland, and Thursday night will be his 25th career start against the Pittsburgh Steelers, including the playoffs.

Flacco came off the bench for the Indianapolis Colts last season and completed 16 of 26 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-24 win over the Steelers. Now he’ll try to salvage the Bengals’ season while Joe Burrow recovers from toe surgery.

“I know it’s easy to be down on yourself in hard times, but you know, playing with confidence shows. So, we got to find a way to kind of get some of that back, but I think we do have the ability to do that,” Flacco said after Sunday’s game. “We got a big week coming up, and these division games are always good matchups and going in and playing a good game this upcoming week could help a lot with that.”

What’s working

Keeping penalties to a minimum. After being flagged 17 times for 95 yards the past two games, the Bengals were penalized only three times for a season-low 17 yards against the Packers.

What needs help

Stopping quick passes. Cincinnati has allowed 73 completions on passes thrown under 2.5 seconds, the fifth most in the league, and 118 yards per game, which is second most. Green Bay’s Jordan Love was 9 of 9 on quick passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.

Stock up

LB Barrett Carter. The fourth-round pick got the start and led the team with 10 tackles. He also wore the green dot on his helmet, which meant he was getting the plays from the sideline and getting the defense in the right formation. Carter was in for all 61 snaps while Logan Wilson was in for only 12 plays.

Stock down

WR Andrei Iosivas dropped three passes and had only one catch for 5 yards.

Injuries

TE Mike Gesicki (pectoral) is expected to miss multiple games while DE Trey Hendrickson (back bruise) is questionable. TE Tanner Hudson is in the concussion protocol.

Key numbers

3 — Quarterbacks who have started for at least three teams in a calendar year since 1950 — Flacco, Baker Mayfield (2022) and Joshua Dobbs (2023).

50 — Touchdown catches for Chase. He reached the milestone in 68 games, the fourth-fastest among players in the Super Bowl era (1966-present).

What’s next

The Bengals’ grueling five-game stretch against teams that made the playoffs last season concludes with a Thursday night matchup against AFC North leader Pittsburgh (4-1).

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL