The Pittsburgh Steelers are in great shape heading into Week 6 of the NFL season, sitting at 3-1 following their Week 5 bye. Thanks to the struggles of the rest of the AFC North, they are also comfortably in first place in the division. The second-place Cincinnati Bengals aren't throwing in the towel quite yet, however, making a move for Browns quarterback Joe Flacco to replace current starter Jake Browning.
While the move makes sense given Browning's massive struggles this season, Flacco himself was just benched for third-round rookie Dillon Gabriel. He had eight turnovers in four games as a starter for Cleveland, and he only passed for two touchdowns in that time.
Even if Flacco ends up helping the offense play more consistently, this move reeks of desperation by the Bengals. Head coach Zac Taylor sees the writing on the wall, and making Flacco work in his offense may be his last chance at saving his job.
Bengals desperate QB change won't save them from finishing behind Pittsburgh Steelers
While I have plenty of questions that remain unanswered about how good the Steelers really are, it's safe to say that the Bengals are a bad football team right now. Even before star QB Joe Burrow went down with his toe injury, the Bengals looked mostly awful despite a 2-0 start to the season.
While he managed to get his team through those first two games despite the poor performances, Taylor has had a bad track record early in seasons for his entire tenure. He is just 9-16-1 in September during his Bengals career, opposed to an even 39-39 outside of the season's first month.
Those slow starts have killed any chance of competing for a higher playoff seeding, and sometimes, of making the playoffs at all. Now, without his starting QB (who clearly is the catalyst for this team's success), he seems to have no answer for getting his team back on track.
Bringing in Flacco could help raise the floor for the offense, but does it really change anything? The offensive line is a disaster, they can't run the football, and the defense lacks the talent to help make up for a floundering offense. It took a herculean effort by Burrow just to get them to 9-8 a year ago, and he can't save them this time.
If any team is going to challenge Pittsburgh, it will be a Ravens team that should get back Lamar Jackson and other key injured starters over the next few weeks. This trade may end up helping somewhat, but it may only be enough to keep them ahead of the Browns for third place in the division. Given the money and time put into this version of the team, Taylor could be looking for a new job in 2026 if that comes to fruition.