Word on Saturday was that Joe Flacco was on track to start at quarterback for the Bengals in Sunday’s home game against the Bears and official word of his status came on Sunday morning.
Flacco is active despite the right shoulder injury that caused him to miss Wednesday’s practice and limited him the rest of the week. Flacco was hurt on a sack in the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s loss to the Jets, but he did not miss any offensive plays.
The Bengals will be without defensive end Trey Hendrickson for the second time in three games. Hendrickson is inactive after being listed as doubtful to play due to a hip injury.
Bears at Bengals
Bears: RB D’Andre Swift, QB Case Keenum, LB Ruben Hyppolite, WR Luther Burden, RB Roschon Johnson, DL Dominique Robinson
Bengals: CB Marco Wilson, LB Logan Wilson, OL Dalton Risner, WR Jermaine Burton, TE Cam Grandy, DE Trey Hendrickson, QB Sean Clifford
Falcons at Patriots
Falcons: CB Billy Bowman, RB Nathan Carter, OL Michael Jerrell, WR Casey Washington, DL Ta’Quon Graham, DL Zach Harrison
Patriots: LB Caleb Murphy, DT Eric Gregory, G Caedan Wallace, S John Saunders, QB Tommy DeVito, RB Rhamondre Stevenson
Chargers at Titans
Chargers: S Tony Jefferson, CB Tarheeb Still, LB Kyle Kennard, G Mekhi Becton, T Austin Deculus, TE Will Dissly
Titans: WR Calvin Ridley, DT Jeffery Simmons, LB Arden Key, OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, WR Bryce Oliver, S Xavier Woods, OL Drew Moss
Colts at Steelers
Colts: DE Samson Ekubam, RB DJ Giddens, WR Anthony Gould, DE Tyquan Lewis, S Reuben Lowery, TE Will Mallory, T Luke Tenuta
Steelers: WR Scotty Miller, S Chuck Clark, LB Cole Holcomb, S Jabrill Peppers, OL Andrus Peat, DL Logan Lee
49ers at Giants
49ers: QB Brock Purdy, RB Jordan James, WR Ricky Pearsall, C Jake Brendel, DE Bryce Huff, DL CJ West, S Marques Sigle
Giants: S Jevón Holland, CB Paulson Adebo, CB Cor’Dale Flott, DL Chauncey Golston, T Jermaine Eluemunor, TE Daniel Bellinger, QB Jameis Winston
Broncos at Texans
Broncos: CB Pat Surtain, TE Nate Adkins, WR Marvin Mims, S P.J. Locke, DL Sai’vion Jones, DL Jordan Jackson, RB Jaleel McLaughlin
Texans: QB Graham Mertz, RB Dameon Pierce, T Jarrett Kingston, T Trent Brown, DE Dylan Horton
Vikings at Lions
Vikings: FB CJ Ham, T Walter Rouse, TE Josh Oliver, TE Ben Sims, DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, LB Austin Keys, CB Jeff Okudah
Lions: RB Craig Reynolds, DT Quinton Jefferson, DT Mekhi Wingo, S Erick Hallett, S Kerby Joseph, S Jammie Robinson
Panthers at Packers
Panthers: LB Princely Umanmielen, WR Hunter Renfrow, QB Mike White, C Cade Mays, TE James Mitchell, DT Cam Jackson
Packers: WR Dontayvion Wicks, K Lucas Havrisik, OL Jacob Monk, OL Donovan Jennings, DL Lukas Van Ness, DL Warren Brinson
In April 2024, six quarterbacks were selected among the first 12 picks in the draft. For the first time, all of them will be playing on the same day.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick, will start at Cincinnati. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, the second overall pick, will start at home against the Seahawks.
The third overall pick, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, will host the Falcons and eighth overall pick Michael Penix Jr. The Vikings and No. 10 choice J.J. McCarthy visit the Lions, and the Broncos and quarterback Bo Nix, taken at No. 12, will visit the Texans.
All six started in Week 1 and Week 2, but they didn’t play on the same day.
It remains to be seen which of the six will become franchise quarterbacks, which will become consistent starters, and which will not pan out. Maye is currently playing the best of the bunch. Daniels has had the most success with his team. Penix has been up and down.
McCarthy is the only one who continues to be a largely unknown commodity. He missed all of the 2024 regular season, and he played in only the first two games of the 2025 season.
Last year, the Bengals’ defense was bad enough to get coordinator Lou Anarumo fired. This year, the Bengals’ defense is making last year’s version look like the 1985 Bears.
As the Bengals prepared to host the 2025 Bears on Sunday, Cincinnati’s defense is the worst in the NFL. In both key categories: Yards allowed per game (407.9) and points allowed per game (31.6).
Via NBC Sports research, the Bengals have surrendered 500 or more yards twice this season. The NFL’s other 31 teams have done it twice, too. Collectively.
The 2024 Bengals, who just missed the playoffs at 9-8, were 25th in total defense. The Bengals, after starting 2-0, are now 3-5.
Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco is officially questionable for Sunday’s game against the Bears. But at this point, it’s looking like he’ll be on the field.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Flacco is planning to start the contest, barring anything unforeseen over the next day.
Flacco told reporters earlier this week that his shoulder felt good, despite suffering an AC joint sprain during last Sunday’s loss to the Jets. Flacco did not practice on Wednesday, but was limited on Thursday before he did not participate on Friday.
Rapoport notes that there was optimism that Flacco could play after Thursday’s practice, which has continued over the last couple of days. But no one knows how the quarterback’s shoulder will react once the game starts.
Flacco, 40, has made three starts for Cincinnati since Cleveland traded him to the division rival. Flacco has completed 64.3 percent of his passes in those contests for 764 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. That’s after he completed 58.1 percent of his passes for 815 yards with two touchdowns and six picks.
If Flacco is unavailable, Jake Browning would take over at quarterback.
The Bengals also signed quarterback Sean Clifford to the 53-man roster on Friday, which allows him to serve as the emergency third quarterback.
When the Bengals host the Bears on Sunday, Cincinnati’s top two receiver have a chance to make history, in different ways.
Via NBC Sports research, another 10-or-more catch day from Ja’Marr Chase would make him only the second player in league history to have 10 or more catches in four straight games. Lions receiver Calvin Johnson did it in 2012.
Tee Higgins could become the third player in NFL history with a touchdown catch in nine straight home games. Vikings receiver Cris Carter dd it in 2000-01, and 49ers receiver Jerry Rice did it in 1989-90.
For both players, the ability to pull it off will be boosted by the availability of starting quarterback Joe Flacco. He’s questionable for Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury suffered during a Week 8 loss to the Jets.
Chase leads all NFL players with 70 receptions this season, 14 more than the player in second place (49ers running back Christian McCaffrey). Chase is second in receiving yards, with 720.
