Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco may be making his 200^th career start Sunday in Pittsburgh (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) and it may be his 24^th game against the Steelers. But thanks to All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and running mate Tee Higgins, he's glimpsing things he's never glimpsed.

"I'm seeing some coverages the last couple weeks I probably haven't seen in 18 years because you have two guys," Flacco said after Wednesday's practice. "I'm not saying these are new coverages, but I don't remember having to go into a game and say, 'Hey, when they double Tee and double Ja'Marr, this is our answer.'"

Meet The Answer. You know him as running back Chase Brown.

His 317 scrimmage yards in the last three games, all with Flacco, are fourth among all NFL backs. In his second game with Flacco against these Steelers, he ran for 9.8 yards per his 11 carries.

"Even in the run game, you can feel Ja'Marr's and Tee's presence because of how much you can spread teams out because they have to worry about them and spend so much time focusing on them that you get a little bit extra room in there.," Flacco said.

In the fourth game two weeks ago, Brown racked up his second-most catches in a game (eight) and his second-most receiving yards (75).

The Answer?

"I'm one of them," Brown said. "If you want me on a linebacker, I'll take that 50 times a game."

No backers need apply. His biggest pop against the Bears was a 21-yarder on linebacker T.J. Edwards and his next biggest went for 13 against edge Montez Sweat, according to Pro Football Focus.

Enough Ced

The prognosis isn't good Sunday for NFL sack champion Trey Hendrickson (hip) and rookie edge Shemar Stewart (knee). Neither practiced Wednesday. Hendrickson didn't play in the Oct. 16 win over Pittsburgh, when Stewart started his first game back after missing four with an ankle injury.

That leaves Joseph Ossai, Myles Murphy and Cam Sample, along with Cedric Johnson, to rush Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the edge.

Johnson, the second-year man from Ole Miss who played so well two weeks ago in his season debut against the Bears, can hear his dad now back home in Mobile, Ala.

"It's crazy," said Johnson of playing the 41-year-old Rodgers. "I hope I get a sack. My dad would love that. He's just a big fan of the game. He's like, 'This is going to be a legendary moment. You get to tackle Aaron Rodgers.' I can just hear him now talk about it."

But it won't be his first NFL sack. Johnson, a 2024 draft sixth-rounder, took 20 of his 83 rookie snaps in last season's final two games and racked up three of his four quarterback hits and that first sack. PFF graded him the Bengals' highest-rated pass rusher in the Week 17 overtime win over Denver.

Johnson stayed at Paycor Stadium during the offseason and worked with Bengals strength and conditioning boss Joey Boese, which made his training-camp injury doubly tough.

"Overall working on strength and speed and positional drills," Johnson told Bengals.com back in October when he returned to practice. "Just trying to build off those good rushes and make them better."

A day before the pads came on in training camp, Johnson ripped up his calf and didn't get back on the practice field until three weeks ago. By the time he came back for the Bears and logged 28 snaps in the kicking game and 16 more on the edge, it was only his third time in pads since last season's finale in Pittsburgh.

Johnson admitted after Wednesday's practice, he was gassed against Chicago. But special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons raved about his outing, where he helped Ossai block a field goal, and added a quarterback hit and two pressures on 12 pass rushes from scrimmage.

"At halftime, I was like, 'I've still got a lot more to go.' It was tough," Johnson said. "This week in practice, I'm being intentional, making sure I get in my conditioning while other stuff is going on."

They need him to put together numbers comparable to his last three games.

"Being helpful on the edge, attacking the quarterback, things like that, and being like that in the run game," Johnson said.

Joe Squared

Thursday is going to be like one of those historical photos of multiple presidents. Flacco (shoulder), who didn't throw Wednesday, throws Thursday. So does Joe Burrow (toe) in limited fashion. They've combined for seven of the 52 300-yard games thrown against Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin's defense.

But Flacco says it's nothing to get excited about. He's glad to have Burrow's help on the sideline and in practice, but it's nothing supernatural.

"I think you can probably make too much about that, honestly. We're just two quarterbacks sitting in a room, and it's not like we're doing anything groundbreaking in there," Flacco said. "We're two quarterbacks in a room just like any other two quarterbacks, for the most part.

"I'm still at the point where you're able to kind of see the operation of things and kind of bounce little questions like that off those guys (Burrow and Jake Browning). I think that's still the biggest thing. And maybe with Joe, he has a way of doing it that's a little bit different than Jake, and I have kind of a little bit of a different way, but if I can kind of understand where they're coming from, it makes it a little easier for me."

Burrow In The Rearview

With Burrow returning to practice and a potential to play, everyone wants to know where Flacco's head is. As we've learned during his five weeks in the building, it's screwed very firmly on top of his shoulders.

"I think I have a job to do and I'm focused on doing that job. If that comes to an end at some point, I just want to feel good about the job that I'm doing when I'm asked to do that job," said Flacco, who never cared to ask when Burrow might be returning before the trade went down.

"I think that was the last thing that was on my mind. I was like, 'All right, I'm playing this week, let's go.' And then just going from there," Flacco said. "I'm honestly not really thinking about it. It's not really a part of my process. I really don't care. It's this week and that's all that matters. I think to think about that stuff would be a distraction."

Slants and Screens

Burrow said it would be "very," meaningful if his return came in Baltimore Thanksgiving Night. That's, of course, where Flacco spent his first 11 seasons and helped bring a Super Bowl trophy.

But Flacco has been gone eight years now. A slew of his Ravens teammates, left tackle Jonathan Ogden, middle linebacker Ray Lewis, safety Ed Reed, are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The connection's just not like that anymore. And, as he pointed out, he started a game there this season already when the Ravens beat the Browns in Week Two.

"I love playing there, just because I love playing there. It's an awesome place to play, and the fans are great. But I really, at this point, I'm not too emotional about it," Flacco said. "I've played a million opponents, and there's a bunch of different guys wearing those jerseys now. So it's just like any other NFL team. It turns over so often and you can't get caught up in all that stuff and you just go play the game and you play it to win." …

As expected, running back Samaje Perine (ankle) didn't practice Wednesday. Taylor said he thought he'd be out a few weeks after he got hurt two weeks ago against the Bears …

Cornerback Marco Wilson (hamstring), who has played three games this season as he fights injury, went full Wednesday …