Just a couple of weeks ago, the Green Bay Packers were riding high. Coming off two convincing victories, the Packers had their eyes on an undefeated season and a Super Bowl, and everyone in Green Bay felt like there wasn’t much that could stand in their way until the Cleveland Browns got involved.
The Browns' 13-10 upset victory in Week 3 proved to be an early turning point for the Packers' season before they stumbled to a 40-40 tie with the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4. After a week to analyze where things went wrong, the Packers will look to get back to their dominant ways when they host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, and it comes with an unexpected chance for revenge against quarterback Joe Flacco.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Flacco has been traded by the Browns to the Bengals in time for Sunday’s matchup. While ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted that the Bengals will send a fifth-round pick in exchange for the veteran QB and a sixth-round pick in the 2026 draft, the compensation isn’t important to the Packers, who just want an opportunity to get back to where they were earlier in the year.
Packers Get Another Shot at Joe Flacco After Painful Loss to Browns
Flacco probably gives Packers fans a bad taste in their mouth the way things went down in Cleveland. The Packers jumped out to a 10-0 lead early before a Jordan Love interception and a blocked field goal in the final minute helped Cleveland score 13 unanswered points and score the upset.
While Flacco’s performance wasn’t dominant, completing 21-for-26 passes for 142 yards and an interception, there were other developments in that game that contributed to Green Bay’s decline.
Offensive lineman Zach Tom was the first domino to fall after he left the game after one snap due to an oblique injury, and Aaron Banks received the blue tent experience shortly after with a groin injury. Defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt was also injured in that game, and his status remains up in the air after Green Bay worked out five defensive tackles on Monday.
The collective hangover from the Browns loss lingered into the tie with the Cowboys. A blocked extra point continued the struggles of special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, and Micah Parsons pinned the defense’s regression on the injury that Wyatt suffered the week before.
That was how the Packers entered the bye week, and they’ll now emerge to Flacco starting against them for the second time in three weeks. This time could see a little more out of the 40-year-old as he joins an offense flanked by Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. But the Packers could look a little different as well if Tom and Banks return to the starting lineup.
Flacco may not be the Packers' final boss in the 2025 season, but he certainly is a notable one. If the Packers had trouble finding motivation against a 2-3 opponent, perhaps the trade can bring it as they’ll get another crack at taking down Flacco on Sunday.