BALTIMORE _ The first guy you see when you walk into the M&T Bank Stadium press box here is Joe Flacco from his days as the Ravens' Super Bowl-winning quarterback.

Thursday night, he surfaced as the Bengals' backup quarterback to Joe Burrow after his intriguing, inspiring six-game run in place of him. Burrow still has more wins this season with the Bengals (two), and one of them was against Flacco in Cleveland in the opener.

So it's been 75 days since Burrow (toe) got hurt. The same day, Sept. 14, Flacco came in here with the Browns for a reunion. But Flacco made it clear after last Sunday's loss to New England, when it was clear Burrow was getting this start, he was just fine with missing this one.

"I get how certain feelings can be involved, but in this case, it's easy to put those aside and go out and just look at the positives of the whole thing and be excited for a teammate trying to work his way back," Flacco said. "It might sound like crap and I'm lying, and yeah, there's a tough part about not being out there. There always is. But I feel like I've put my head down and worked hard, however long it's been, and I've had a lot of fun with these guys."

Burrow Memo To NFL

Now is a good time to recall Burrow's reaction back in May when the NFL schedule came out:

"Playing in Baltimore for the fourth straight prime-time year isn't ideal. Maybe we could get one of those in Cincinnati next year. Please."

Burrow's one win here and over Lamar Jackson came in a 1 p.m. special in 2021 when he unfurled 416 yards, 201 of them to a rookie wide receiver named Ja’Marr Chase in his breakout game.

**Inactives**

The injury report dictated head coach Zac Taylor’s inactive list, and that meant backup running back Samaje Perine was active after missing two games with an ankle injury.

Wide receiver Tee Higgins and running back Tahj Brooks out with concussions, Trey Hendrickson out with a hip/pelvis injury, defensive end Cam Sample out with an oblique issue and wide receiver Jermaine Burton out with an ankle injury. Taylor went with three tight ends and deactivated Cam Grandy while officially installing Jake Browning as the emergency third quarterback.

Slants and Screens

Chase hasn't stopped since that '21 breakout game.

Against the Ravens, he has averaged the most yards by any player against a single opponent in NFL history in a minimum of eight games with 120.3, ahead of Julio Jones against the Buccaneers at 115.1, Justin Jefferson against the Lions at 114.1 and Jerry Rice against the Chargers at 106.9 …

The Ravens' Mark Andrews, who is soon going to join Travis Kelce as a tight end who is his franchise's all-time leading receiver, has been a Bengals-killer with eight touchdowns and 724 yards in his career. But he has bigger numbers (11, 789) against the Browns.

After Patriots tight ends racked up 154 yards last Sunday, the Bengals indicated their main focus had been the running game and Stefon Diggs' corps of wide receivers. They also indicated Andrews is a focus Thursday.

"Have to have a plan for him," safety Jordan Battle said. …

After a solid 2025 debut on Sunday with 42 snaps, nickel cornerback Jalen Davis is active again …

Now backup safety Daijahn Anthony makes his season debut, primarily as a special teamer …