Flacco already beat Packers this season with Browns. Now he’s trying to do it with Bengals

By Canadian Press on October 9, 2025.

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Joe Flacco has a chance to do something in his Cincinnati Bengals debut that only one quarterback has accomplished.

Flacco will try to help the Bengals beat Green Bay on Sunday, just three weeks after he defeated the Packers as the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback. The only quarterback to beat the same opponent twice in one season while playing for two teams was Jack Kemp, who led the AFL’s Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers past the New York Titans in 1962.

“It’s at least there in the back of his mind, ‘Man, I’ve played these guys, and I have an understanding of how they try to attack you,'” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said.

The Bengals (2-3) acquired Flacco aftert losing three straight games by a combined score of 113-37 with Jake Browning as their starting quarterback. The Bengals had turned to Browning after two-time Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow hurt his left toe, an injury that is expected to sideline him for three months.

Flacco went 21 of 36 for 142 yards with an interception and no touchdown passes in the Browns’ 13-10 triumph over the Packers on Sept. 21. Cleveland won by scoring 13 straight points in the last 3:38.

Packers safety Xavier McKinney already has tried considering this unique situation from Flacco’s perspective.

“I was thinking about just kind of ways he might try to come into this game having different players and a different scheme, already having seen what we’ve done this year,” McKinney said. “So just trying to see if there’s going to be different ways where we can mix it up and show different things and play different things. So I’m going to take a look at that.

“I’m probably going to rewatch the Browns game just to try and watch and see what we were doing a little bit and try to go from there.”

The Packers (2-1-1) are coming back from a bye week as they seek to regain the momentum they established earlier this season in home wins over the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders. They followed that up by losing at Cleveland and getting a 40-40 tie at Dallas.

Another upset brewing?

BetMGM Sportsbook has Green Bay as a 14-point favorite. Then again, the Packers were eight-point favorites against Flacco’s Browns and lost that game.

According to BetMGM, the last time the Bengals were such a big underdog was in 2020, when the Pittsburgh Steelers came to Cincinnati as 14 1/2-point favorites. The Bengals won that game 27-17.

New team, same problems?

Flacco is joining a new team, but he might run into the same problems that he had in Cleveland: an unstable offensive line.

The Bengals have allowed 15 sacks, tied for ninth-most in the league. The 38.1% pressured rate is eighth-highest.

Both of Cincinnati’s offensive tackles — Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims — are in the top 12 in pressure rate. Brown’s 13.3% rate is 10th-highest among left tackles and Mims’ 10.8% rate is 12th highest at right tackle.

Green Bay’s Micah Parsons is tied for fourth in the league with 26 pressures and has two games this season in which he recorded at least eight. The Packers sacked Flacco twice in their loss to the Browns.

Bengals’ defensive struggles

The Bengals are ranked 30th in total defense (391.2 yards per game), 29th against the pass (259 yards per game) and are allowing the third-most points at 31.2 per game.

It could be another tough afternoon for Cincinnati’s secondary, Green Bay tight end Tucker Kraft has 161 yards after the catch and running back Josh Jacobs has 143.

The Packers are averaging 7.0 in YAC per reception, which is second-highest in the league. The Bengals have allowed a league-high 878 yards after the catch, an average of 7.3 YAC per catch.

Turnover talk

Green Bay has forced just two turnovers through four games after ranking fourth in the league with 31 takeaways last year. The only team with fewer takeaways is the New York Jets, who haven’t forced a turnover all season.

This game offers a chance for Green Bay to take the ball away more often. The Bengals have a league-high 11 turnovers.

Cincinnati might not be quite as prone to turnovers now that Flacco is taking over for Browning, who has thrown eight interceptions. But Flacco’s 6-2 interception-touchdown ratio suggests this still could be a major opportunity for Green Bay’s secondary.

Home at last

This is Green Bay’s first home matchup since Sept. 11 and its only game at Lambeau Field for a 51-day stretch. The Packers had two road games before taking last week off. They follow this game by heading to Arizona and Pittsburgh.

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AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy contributed to this report.

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Steve Megargee, The Associated Press