Joe Flacco is 41 and well past his prime. But when the Cincinnati Bengals needed someone to execute a quarterback sneak and didn’t want to risk Joe Burrow, they knew exactly who to call: Joe Flacco. That’s exactly what happened in the Bengals’ regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns in 2025. A year later, Flacco revealed that he ended up handling the quarterback sneak after Burrow refused to do it himself.

“Brad (Kragthorpe), our quarterbacks coach, he asked Joe (Burrow), ‘Hey, do you want to do a quarterback sneak here? And I was on the sideline thinking, ‘Man, if I was him, I’d say no way.’ And of course, Joe said, ‘No.’ I had it in the back of my mind, they’re gonna ask me to do it, aren’t they?”

That’s exactly what the Bengals’ head coach, Zac Taylor, ultimately did. On third-and-1 at the Cleveland 30 on the first play after the two-minute warning in the second quarter, the Bengals sent Flacco for just one play for the quarterback sneak. Flacco, meanwhile, converted into the first down, as the fans cheered for the 41-year-old veteran.

“You just have to do it,” Flacco added. “It’s what your role is right now. And don’t mess it up. Get the snap and get the first down.”

At the same time, during his interview on the Quarterback season 3, episode 7, Flacco later revealed how he felt after the quarterback sneak, when he heard the fans cheering for him.

“It’s kind of corny like that, you know, I’m getting cheered for a quarterback sneak,” Flacco said. “I’m like, ‘No,’ but I would hate me if I was watching that. I would be like, ‘Look at this freaking guy. He’s getting cheered for a freaking quarterback sneak. What a loser.’ But whatever, it is what it is.”

It’s ironic, considering Joe Flacco started the 2025 season as the Browns’ starting quarterback. However, after he struggled in Cleveland, the Browns traded him to the Bengals, where he stepped up after Joe Burrow went down with turf toe. In 6 starts, he threw for 1636 yards, 13 passing touchdowns, and 4 interceptions before Burrow returned in Week 13.

Fast forward to now, and while Burrow is all set to start the 2026 season for the Bengals, Flacco remains a key part of the team’s quarterback room. Earlier this offseason, the Bengals had re-signed him on a one-year, $6 million deal. While he’ll serve as Burrow’s backup in the 2026 season, whether the Bengals will use him for another quarterback sneak this year remains to be seen.

The post “What a Loser”: Joe Flacco Reveals True Feelings on Being Forced to Run QB Sneak After Joe Burrow’s Refusal During Bengals-Browns appeared first on EssentiallySports.



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