Patriots catch another break for Sunday at Bengals
The Pats won’t have to face multiple franchise players in Cincinnati, after the most recent critical injury update.
The Patriots won't have to face the Bengals' franchise quarterback or receiver on Sunday.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow is staying on injured reserve and won't be activated for Sunday's Week 12 matchup against New England. However, backup QB Joe Flacco is expected to play, after being a limited participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Flacco was upgraded to full participation on Friday, while Burrow was listed as a full participant for the first two days then limited the last day. Burrow's presence at Bengals practice opened up the possibility that the team could activate him for the Patriots game, after starting the 21-day window to bring him off IR. Instead, they'll go with Flacco for a sixth game.
Flacco has to bounce back, coming off a 34-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Flacco completed only 57.5% of his passes in the defeat, posting a 68.6 passer rating overall. The veteran isn't producing the same way as historically expected, averaging only 7.1 air yards per pass attempt (26th), with only 7.8% of his attempts traveling over 20 yards (also 26th). What Flacco surprisingly has going for him, is that he's seventh in the league in "tight window percentage" (17.2%), defined as "The percentage of passes where the targeted receiver has less than 1 yard of separation when the pass arrives" (via Next Gen Stats).
A former Patriots killer from his time with the Baltimore Ravens, Flacco has certainly long proven capable of delivering productive games, even at age 40. Flacco posted passer ratings of at least 100.5 in three straight games prior to last week's stumble against the Steelers. The Patriots defense, meanwhile, finds itself adjusting to life without defensive tackle Milton Williams, so they'll have to find different ways to disrupt Flacco and the passing game.
As for Burrow, he may be targeting a Thanksgiving return next Thursday night at the Baltimore Ravens. So, this week of preparation possibly amounted to extra time for him to get ready for that game. He'll have to hope Flacco can work some magic without star wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, whose one-game suspension was upheld for Sunday.
The Patriots offense, meanwhile, has a chance to be a full go on Sunday, with wideout Kayshon Boutte and running back Rhamondre Stevenson both tracking toward returning from injury.
