CINCINNATI — Joe Flacco has force-fed Ja'Marr Chase targets ever since he took over as the Bengals starter, but he'll have to make major adjustments to his option hierarchy this week as the star gets set to miss his first game of the season.
Chase's one-game suspension for spitting on Jalen Ramsey was upheld on Tuesday night, gutting the Bengals' star power even more as Trey Hendrickson paces towards missing another game due to injury on the defensive side.
The offense will have to adjust and find a way to operate against the 9-2 Patriots.
"You got to feel pretty good about it going in," Flacco said about the weaponry without Chase. "And it's always cool, honestly, when these types of things can come up for whatever reason, because it's opportunities for young players to come in and show what they're all about. So I think only good can come from that."
Chase has averaged nearly 15 targets and 100 yards per game since Flacco took over. Representing a massive yardage gap to fill from Andrei Iosivas, Noah Fant, and others. Flacco is slated to start again this week, but it could be his last one for awhile as Joe Burrow makes more strong progress with his eyes on playing against the Raven on Thanksgiving.
"Joe looked good. Yeah, it's cool to see him out there," Flacco said about the Bengals top player. "Obviously, when you know you're both now taking reps and things like that. Some conversations kind of happen and just like, 'How do you see this versus that?' But, yeah, Joe, looked good."
Cincinnati is a near double-digit betting underdog in a game that will officially nail the coffin in their 2025 season with a loss.
"Their head coach played there, throughout his career, and kind of now as the head coach of the Patriots he probably learned a lot of things from the type of culture that he grew up playing in that he was able to bring to the team that he's now coaching," Flacco said about Mike Vrabel and the Pats. "Just that culture and that mindset, you know being physical and and being confident, I think it obviously shows in their team right now."
The game kicks off at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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