The Cincinnati Bengals had a mediocre showing in their first game with Joe Flacco under center, losing 27-18 at the Green Bay Packers. And at least one prominent figure was not happy with it.
The former Super Bowl MVP completed 29 of 45 attempts for 219 yards and two touchdowns. However, he had a good number of bad incompletions and failed to empower the run game, which accounted for a paltry 55 yards.
As the game was going on, Camilla Stewart, the mother of wide receiver Tee Higgins, was critical of the veteran quarterback:
“Ok just saw three terrible throws 👀 there’s absolutely no blocking making him throw like that”
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Ok just saw three terrible throws 👀 there’s absolutely no blocking making him throw like that
“What’s the difference 🤷🏽♀️”
@jdoppes1 What’s the difference 🤷🏽♀️
Ja’Marr Chase was the Bengals’ best offensive player, catching ten passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. Flacco’s other score went to tight end Tanner Hudson.
The Packers, meanwhile, were buoyed by Josh Jacobs’ 93 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Jordan Love’s only touchdown pass went to tight end Tucker Kraft.
Joe Flacco, HC Zac Taylor react to Bengals’ loss at Packers
After the game, Bengals HC Zac Taylor was the first to take the stand. He thought the offense did rather well, but rued the defense’s inability to stop the Packers’ offense, especially on the ground, leading to a loss in what he considered a winnable game:
“When we talk about complementary football, that’s what we’re talking about, and it wasn’t overall good enough. …Credit to them. They did all the things that they needed to do, and we just came up short, and that’s just a cumulative team effort.”
Key to their competitiveness was a clean offensive effort that saw them commit zero turnovers and three penalties, but their stagnation did not help matters:
“I think before the half, that certainly gave us some confidence. Even though we came up with no points, we got into a rhythm. We found some things in the pass game. We were able to complement it with the run game.”
Flacco also took the stand, delivering this uplifting message about self-doubt:
“Sometimes you get so focused on what you didn’t do well, and you think everybody’s looking at you. ‘Oh, my gosh, everybody’s looking at me. I didn’t do this well.’ Nobody’s looking at you, man. Everybody’s worried about what they’re doing.”
The team’s next game is against the Pittsburgh Steelers this Thursday. Kickoff is at 8:15 pm ET on Amazon Prime Video.