Bengals QB Joe Flacco Already Owns a Franchise Record, and the Offense Can Reach a Rare Turnover-Free Streak Sunday
CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals have not committed a turnover since Joe Flacco took over as starting quarterback.
The last time the Bengals went back-to-back games without a giveaway was 2022 in 20-16 road win against the Titans and a 27-24 home triumph of the Chiefs.
The longest streak of the Joe Burrow era was a four-game run without a turnover down the stretch in 2021, which featured wins against the Broncos, Ravens and Chiefs and a meaningless Week 18 loss at Cleveland when the Bengals were resting their starters.
That stretch tied a franchise record first set from Weeks 2-5 in 1998.
Despite the lack of turnovers, the Bengals went 2-2 during that stretch.
If Flacco and the rest of the offense can avoid turning the ball over Sunday against the Jets, it will mark just the fifth time in franchise history they put together a streak of three consecutive games without a giveaway.
In addition to the two four-game stretches mentioned above, there are a pair of three-game streaks.
The first occurred in Week 4-6 in 2016, which saw the Bengals go 1-2 with a win against the Dolphins and losses to the Cowboys and Patriots.
The following year in 2017, the Bengals did it again, going three straight games without a turnover in Weeks 11-13.
That stretch included a 2-1 record with victories against Broncos and Browns and a loss to the Steelers.
If you’re wondering about the NFL record, we just saw it earlier this season.
The Chiefs went eight consecutive games without a turnover dating back to last year and through their Week 1 game against the Chargers this year.
That broke the Patriots’ record of seven in a row, which they set in 2010.
It’s now tied with the Chiefs for the longest single-season streak.
The Cowboys have the longest active streak at four games, while the Browns are right behind with three consecutive games without a turnover.
If Flacco an avoid throwing an interception Sunday against the Jets, one of his former teams, he will become the second quarterback in Cincinnati franchise history not to throw an interception in his first three starts for the team.
The only other quarterback to do it never started for the team again after those first three games.
It was AJ McCarron in 2015, after Andy Dalton suffered a season-ending broken thumb.
McCarron threw 83 passes in wins against the 49ers and Ravens a loss to the Broncos.
Flacco has thrown 92 passes in his two starts against the Packers and Steelers, meaning he has set a franchise record for more consecutive attempts without an interception to begin a Bengals tenure.
1 Quiet Reason the Raiders' Offense Has Struggled This Season
The Las Vegas Raiders' offense has struggled this season for various reasons, mainly subpar play along the offensive line and at quarterback. However, the lack of playmakers at skill positions, for various reasons, have held the Raiders' offense back.
Raiders Rookies Must Improve
The Raiders invested a second-round pick into drafting Jack Bech, proving how much they believed in him before he ever put a Raiders jersey on. However, Bech must do his part and work through the growing pains only the Raiders' coaching staff knows about.
Bech and Dont'e Thornton were brought in to be two of those playmakers but have yet to make much of an impact. Bech's lack of playing time on an offense in desperate need of help at wide receiver speaks volumes about where Las Vegas' coaching staff believes he is developmentally.
“The more plays that we can log with the new guys, Jack [Bech] and Dont'e [Thornton Jr.], we can show them the things that they need to improve on and the things that they're not quite as sharp on. It helps them. And there's some pain in that too. There's some pain in there that we have to undergo. But it's how you do it,” Carroll said.
“By the time you get to the middle of the season, these guys should have things really cleaned up, and they should be ready to go and we can count on them and they can come through and not be error repeaters, you know? And that's what we're working hard at."
During the Bye Week, Raiders' Wide Receivers Coach Chris Beatty gave an update on the development of both of Las Vegas' wide receivers. If the Raiders can get Bech and Thornton up to speed quickly, it could alleviate some of the issues they are having on offense.
"Some ups and downs. We have got to be more consistent. Both of those guys are learning a lot. Theres good and bad in everything. First couple of games, Dont'e had an explosive play in every game," Beatty said.
"He has kind of fell back a little bit and some of the fundamentals, we have got to continue to build on. Same thing with Jack. They have done okay but there is a lot more out there. So, we will keep pushing them and getting the most out of them."
