The Bengals actually went with two new quarterbacks Sunday in Green Bay when head coach Zac Taylor handed the defensive headset helmet to rookie linebacker Barrett Carter in his first NFL start while quarterback Joe Flacco made his Bengals debut in his 201st game.

Carter and Taylor felt he handled the fast-moving green dot logistics while taking all 61 snaps with a game-high ten tackles.

"Just run the show. Don't change anything that I've always been doing. Just be me," said Carter of the coaching message. "That's why they brought me here, just to help be myself day in and day out, and just stay being the leader, stay confident, and just run the show."

The move reflected the faith they have in Carter, their fourth-rounder, and second-rounder Demetrius Knight Jr., a season-long starter who played 92% of the snaps at linebacker. It meant that captain Logan Wilson, who played every snap the week before against the Lions, played a dozen Sunday as Taylor and defensive coordinator Al Golden try to settle on a rotation.

But then, Golden saw Carter coming the moment they drafted him after a star-studded career at Clemson.

Complete with the green dot.

"He had a grade higher than the current round," Golden said that day. "He can play stack linebacker. He has four-down value … He was a team captain. A green dot. He had a 4.0 GPA. He's just a family-oriented guy. He's just a really impressive human being. He's going to have an immediate impact for us."

After watching the tape, Taylor said on Monday he saw enough to warrant the move and it sounds like he'll do it Thursday night (8:15-Prme Video) against the 4-1 Steelers at Paycor Stadium.

"I think he's going to get better with every rep he gets. He and Demetrius out there play with a lot of energy," Taylor said. "Logan was out there. It's a room that's going to continue to improve. They're just going to need the experience."

After getting everyone lined up, Carter was active and physical. He forced a field goal for the game's first score on the second play of the second quarter when he made an open-field tackle on Packers quarterback Jordan Love after Love sprinted away from a near sack by edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.

"I trusted him. That's why we made the decision. Because he's shown operationally that he can handle it," Taylor said. "I think anytime you put a rookie out there, there's an element of risk to it. When are you going to expose yourself to that risk? Are you going to do it sooner rather than later? I just felt he's shown enough to (have us) continue to work through it. We're going to see constant improvement every single game. A lot of confidence in him. We'll continue with that moving forward."

Carter says his first responsibility with the green dot is to communicate the offensive personnel to the defense "because that means something." But the most important communication may go on between series.

"You try to correct all the mistakes on the sideline. If a bad play happens on the field, you can't dwell on it. You've got to flush it immediately, because if you don't, then the offensive front is going to dominate you," Carter said. "We just try to take it play-by-play. Each play has a has a life of its own. So just take it play-by-play, give that play the respect that it deserves. If you don't, you'll get exposed, you get to the sideline and correct the mistakes when you see them. I felt we did a good job with that, but we just got to keep getting better with it."

Pro Football Focus had Carter and Knight each leading the team with three missed tackles against the Packers. They weren't alone. The Bengals had 14 misses, which Taylor called, "Not good enough. Too many opportunities there where they got extra yardage."

The two plays Carter wanted back were Love's check-down 29-yard pass to running back Josh Jacobs after he lost sight of Jacobs when he saw Love thinking about running. And, Jacobs' untouched 14-yard run up the middle.

"Me and 44 have to play it better. We definitely were mad about that play, just knowing that that's a play that we've repped in practice before that," Carter said. "It wasn't a new play for us. We definitely just have to be better with our fits and just know where our help is and where our gaps are. We just have to play that better. That's all it is."

The Bengals believe he will, not only because of his talent but because of his approach to the game. Carter watched all of Sunday's 61 plays, and he says the big thing isn't to dwell on mistakes but understand how to fix them, and he's got a plan to eliminate the missed tackles.

"Trust my speed," Carter said. "In this game, if you don't take the right angles, and if you over pursue something, you know the playmakers in this league, they'll make you miss. So I would say just trusting my speed and just taking the right angles when I'm trying to pursue someone."

Good Pass Pro

The Bengals pretty much handled the Packers' feared pass rush compared to other clubs. Flacco got hit, but not as many as others. The Pack hit Jared Goff nine times, Jayden Daniels 12 times and Flacco 10 when he played for the Browns three weeks ago. On Sunday, it was five hits with just one sack. PFF said Flacco was pressured 10 times after the Pack pressured him 20 times three weeks ago in Cleveland.

"It gave us a chance to win a game," Taylor said of his protection. "If you'd watched all the third-down tape before our game, it was just a disaster tape. They're hitting quarterbacks on seemingly every play. The conversions had all been on underneath throws where guys just catch and ran for the first downs, and so we factored that into our plan, a little bit.

"It got to a point where we just had to drop back and throw the ball down the field. And I thought our guys held up really well. And Joe did a great job hanging in there as long as he could and giving guys a chance. And those guys at the receiver position came up big for him."

New Flacco Fan

Flacco has a new fan in Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. He never met Flacco until he walked in the building Tuesday night about 8:30, and his starting assignment fewer than five days away

"He got here after the game plan was installed," Taylor said. "Not Sunday. Not Monday."

Asked on Monday if there was something Flacco did that particularly impressed him on Sunday, Pitcher had to go big picture.

Starting with just one offensive penalty. It was a big one when tight end Noah Fant false-started on the goal line. The sideline opted to line up quickly and catch Green Bay from subbing their goal line crew. But it was OK because they scored on a remarkable throw and catch on fourth down by tight end Tanner Hudson.

"You look at the totality of it. He got here on a Tuesday in an offense he's never played in. Granted, everybody runs the same plays to some extent with their own twists. But new words, new people, didn't know any of us, none of us really knew him," Pitcher said.

"And we operated. We talked about being clean all week. We were in and out of the huddle. I think we had to take one timeout in the second half down in the low red zone when we got down on it. But other than that, there's not pre-snap procedure issues. There weren't penalty issues. He took care of the football. He made some remarkable throws, particularly in the second half. I mean, to just walk in the door and do that … obviously we didn't win the football game, and that's disappointing … but pretty impressive."

Joe Calm

Pitcher may have given Flacco a nickname pinned on him by Bengals radio voice Dan Hoard during Monday's gathering.

Burrow can keep Joe Cool. Flacco can take Joe Calm.

"There's nothing that Joe hasn't seen or hasn't had to prepare for. Even being around the guy for six days now, or whatever it is, there's a calming element of that that goes with him, because of his professionalism and his experience," Pitcher said. "It puts a coach at ease that there's nothing that's going to jump out at him that's going to rattle him.

"Obviously, it's a challenge. They're going to make plays, and they're going to make moving the football and scoring hard," Pitcher said of the Steelers. "But it's not going to be because necessarily they surprise Joe Flacco. And that's calming."

Slants and Screens

NFL sack champion Trey Hendrickson, who left after his 26^th snap with a back issue, is day-to-day …

Taylor said tight end Mike Gesicki, who left with a pectoral issue after his second snap, is out "a while." Hudson, who stepped in for Gesicki and caught that first Bengals touchdown for Flacco, is in concussion protocol after getting dinged on the last kickoff.

That's never a good sign for a short week, but Taylor says he's not looking to add anyone for Thursday because they still have three tight ends in Fant, Drew Sample and Cam Grandy …

Rookie defensive lineman Shemar Stewart (ankle), who hasn't played in a month, could be back. Even though the Bengals didn't practice, it was estimated he would be full go …

"We don't get a lot of full speed work this week, but I'm optimistic about him," Taylor said …

Right guard Lucas Patrick (calf) could come off injured reserve after being there since the opener. He was also listed as full.

"He's looked good. We'll continue to make a decision on that. From a physical standpoint, he looks good," Taylor said.

Right tackle Amarius Mims, who got rolled up, missed nine snaps but Taylor says he's good to go …

Left guard Dylan Fairchild (knee), inactive against the Pack, was also listed full go …

Receiver returner Charlie Jones (ribs) was listed as not practicing …