Many Chicago Bears fans were expecting to face Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns late in the season in December. Flacco will still face the Bears, but much sooner.
On Tuesday, NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported that the Browns traded Flacco to their AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals. Both teams swapped Day 3 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft as part of the deal.
Flacco started four games for the Browns, completing just 58% of his passes for 815 yards and two touchdowns to six interceptions. He was benched in favor of rookie Dillon Gabriel, who started their Sunday loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London.
Bears ready to serve up some cold dish revenge on Flacco
While the revenge game will feel different and be in a different setting, the Bears are ready to get after Flacco after the last time they played.
Back in 2023, Flacco was starting for the Browns and was in the midst of leading the team to the playoffs. The teams met late in the season as the Bears were hanging on to hope to any chance of the postseason at a 5-8 record. If Bears fans want a flashback, this is with Matt Eberflus as head coach and Justin Fields as the quarterback, who just faced off against each other in Week 5 with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.
Chicago had a 17-7 lead going into the fourth quarter, but Flacco led Cleveland on three scoring drives, including connecting with Amari Cooper on a 51-yard touchdown with 3:08 left to tie the game. A Browns field goal on the next drive gave them a three-point lead with 32 seconds left. Fields threw a game-clinching interception to seal a 20-17 loss to the Browns.
Flacco finished the game with 374 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions. It was only the second time that he had beaten the Bears, as he holds a 2-3 record against Chicago.
This is a much different Bears team from the one Flacco played two years ago. Ben Johnson is the head coach, and Caleb Williams replaced Fields. Whether the results of the season will be different by the time the Bengals and Bears play is a different story.
Read more: Kyler Gordon shares injury update Bears fans have been begging to hear for weeks
The Bears and Bengals clash in Week 9 at noon CST as they face off in Cincinnati. Chicago hopes the results of this Flacco game will be much different from that horrible day.