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NFL NFL Week 9 Bengals QB Joe Flacco will try and play through an injury when the Bengals face the Bears on Sunday. Dylan Buell / Getty Images Joe Flacco doesn’t like to talk about injuries. The AC joint sprain sustained last Sunday against the New York Jets falls into the same bucket. The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback practiced on Thursday, the shoulder still felt good on Friday and he feels good about being able to play on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Head coach Zac Taylor offered the same assessment. Advertisement Nothing can be said with 100 percent certainty for a 40-year-old with a shoulder sprain like this to be in the same spot when he wakes up Sunday; that’s why he’s listed as questionable. However, all signs point to Flacco taking the ball. Why? That part he’ll talk about, and it’s why he says he never gave much thought to opting out this weekend with a bye week on deck. “You try to play, ” Flacco said. “You are the quarterback. And then you take it from there. My initial instinct is whatever we can do to get there and then adjust. ” You can believe his words — or check his game log. Flacco missed the birth of his second son an hour before a 2013 Week 2 game against the Browns because he felt like the team needed him. He played through a hip injury in a playoff win where he could hardly move in the pocket against the New England Patriots in January 2010. Sure, he just got to Cincinnati earlier this month and is still learning his teammates’ names and his way around town, but he believes in taking on the quarterback position and being a football player. “I do feel a sense of obligation being out there for the guys you play with, ” Flacco said. “It’s natural when you play this game to want to be out there with anyone. Mindset-wise, I am (playing) until I know I can’t. I just feel like it’s always kind of been my mindset. I’m not changing it now. ” He’s earned immense respect around the building from a locker room and coaching staff watching him not just make every effort to play, but also make every effort to participate in Thursday’s practice — one where Ja’Marr Chase noted he couldn’t even tell Flacco was hurt. Much like his play on the field, his handling of this situation has a real impact. “When you see leaders and guys you’re counting on doing that, how can you not give your all for those guys? ” Taylor said. Advertisement While Flacco took the reps Thursday and tracks to start on Sunday, the bigger question is whether he can finish. Avoiding re-aggravation of the injury — whether on a throw or another hit — by going to the ground will be critical to preventing another exit. Backup Jake Browning took all the reps on Wednesday and Friday. Everyone is well aware that Browning could be called back into action weeks after his performance prompted the club to trade for Flacco and bench Browning in the first place. “He’s ready, ” Taylor said. ”He’s mentally ready to go. So both of those guys have done a great job. It’s tricky how you balance it, and when I’m talking in the QB room, I’m staring down the middle of both of them. They know that, total transparency, everyone is ready to roll. ” The offense has hummed under Flacco. Over the last month, they rank fifth in the NFL in EPA/play. What should the team expect if Browning ends up having to go back in? In retrospect, yes, Browning played terribly enough that a trade for Flacco was mandatory. He was also dealt a bad hand. The Bengals (3-5) faced three of the best defenses on their schedule. The Minnesota Vikings (10th), Denver Broncos (fifth) and Detroit Lions (ninth) are all top-10 defenses in EPA/play this season. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers (17th), Pittsburgh Steelers (26th) and Jets (24th) are all in the bottom half of the league. The Bears (19th) will join that group. Cincinnati was also garnering next to nothing in the run game in September, with the worst rushing offense in the NFL, then, remarkably, leading the NFL in rush efficiency in October. Much of the turnaround connects to Flacco’s arrival and ability to keep the Bengals ahead of the chains with completions, but it emphasizes the degree of difficulty on Browning. “It was a challenge for any quarterback that’s playing those units, ” Taylor said. “Obviously, we didn’t hold up to the challenge in any way, shape or form. That was on all of us. And we put that behind us. And now our offense is doing a great job these last couple of weeks, and we got to keep doing that. And so if it’s Jake that steps in, I got full confidence that we’ll continue to operate at a high level and be able to score some points. ” Advertisement Looking back at what went wrong with Browning, then seemed to instantly fix itself with Flacco, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher saw one lesson far above the rest. “I think an obvious one is just how critical it is to take care of the football, ” Pitcher said. “That smacks you right in the face. When you do that, it just gives you more and more of the opportunity to do the things that we know we’re good at doing. ” Flacco showcased an innate ability to help the entire offense play better. With all the perspective of an 18-year veteran, Flacco arrives with a complete understanding of how challenging Sunday could be for him physically. However, he won’t be getting overwhelmed with thinking about all kinds of other contingencies and possibilities. That’s never been his mindset. When you’re the quarterback, you try to play. So, on Sunday against the Bears, Flacco is trying to play. There were no long-term ramifications that crossed his mind — merely getting a win for his new team. “I think there’s times to do that, ” Flacco said. “I don’t think I’ve necessarily thought about that in this case. ” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Paul Dehner Jr. is a senior writer for The Athletic. He's been covering the Bengals and NFL since 2009, for six seasons with The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Athletic since 2019. He's born, raised and proudly Cincinnati. Follow Paul on Twitter @pauldehnerjr