Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco has had some big ones against the ancestors of these Patriots. Mostly in the playoffs, when he outpitched Tom Brady twice in Foxboro. Not so much in the regular season, where Brady got him four out of five times.

But, of course, that's a mere history lesson with no impact on Sunday at Paycor Stadium. Brady and Bill Belichick are merely the founding fathers of the Patriot Way now that second-year quarterback Drake Maye and first-year head coach Mike Vrabel are writing their own stories with their eight-game winning streak.

Yes, Flacco, 40, did face Vrabel, 50, the last two years Vrabel was in the league as a linebacker for the Chiefs. He got a hand on a Flacco pass in the 2009 opener and played Flacco in his last game during a 2010 Wild Card, both Baltimore wins.

Flacco has also beaten Vrabel twice as a coach, once when he was with the Ravens in Vrabel's rookie year with the Titans (21-0) in 2018 and then the next year with the Broncos won again, 16-0. Flacco threw for a total of one touchdown and two picks, and 422 yards against Vrabel's defense.

"I think they've got a lot of talent and they're really well-coached. I think when you have that combination, then you've got make sure you're all-in-aware of everything that you do," Flacco said of the Pats. "Their head coach played there throughout his career, and now as the head coach of the Patriots, he probably learned a lot of things from the type of culture that he grew up playing in to that he's able to bring to the team that he's now coaching.

"Just that culture and that mindset of being physical and being confident. I think it obviously shows in their team right now."

Bengals center Ted Karras, who played with Brady but not Vrabel, thinks the Pats play defense more like the Titans teams he coached from 2018-23. Karras was 1-1 in those games with the Bengals, including his famous no-so-musical salute to Nashville after the Bengals gut-check of a 20-16 win there in 2022.

"It's tough to say. I'm sure there's similarities there but it's tough to look back on all that we did and say yes or no," Flacco said.

Flacco is well aware of cornerback Christian Gonzalez, a 2023 first-rounder who plays with 6-1 length he'll need against Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, the 6-4 leaper who has seven of his 15 100-yard games in November and is one of the hottest receivers in the league.

"He's still young but his ability to be physical," Flacco said of what stands out about Gonzalez. "I think when you look at him, the way he plays certain routes and where he likes to position himself, but then he's also aware of because he's positioned himself in this way, he's aware of where the throw may be if you were to make one. You can tell he's thought about how he likes to cover guys and where he likes to be in relation to maybe the high shoulder, the low shoulder. Inside, outside and then the play off of that."

Rare Game

All-Pro wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, suspended for this one after last Sunday's bout with Jalen Ramsey, arrived in Cincinnati in 2021. Since then, this is only the second time the Bengals have played without both Chase and quarterback Joe Burrow.

On Dec. 23, 2023 in Pittsburgh, the Steelers overcame Higgins' 148 yards and quarterback Jake Browning's 335 passing yards in a 34-11 win.

Flacco said last week he won't do anything differently while preparing for the Pats without Chase.

"As the quarterback, it wasn't like I was looking his way over something else just to do it, just because it's Ja'Marr," Flacco said. "I think as we get in the game and learn how these guys are going to play us, you might have to make some adjustments just like we do every week. But in terms of my preparation, it stays the same."

Slants and Screens

Head coach Zac Taylor's inactive list had wide receiver Jermaine Burton even with Chase not playing. Burton, who has yet to be active this season, went full all three days of practice this week after missing last week's game when an illness kept him off the practice field …

There's still only one ball without Chase and among Flacco's options besides Higgins, running back Chase Brown, and Nos. 3 and 4 wide receivers Andrei Iosivas and Mitchell Tinsley, is 65-catch tight end Mike Gesicki. He returned Sunday after missing the last month with a pectoral injury …

Tight end Cam Grandy wasn't active while the others were out because of injury: running back Samaje Perine (ankle) and defensive ends Trey Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) and Cam Sample (oblique) …