The Week 18 matchup between the Browns and Bengals holds more meaning for two players. Myles Garrett, who made a new sack record, and Joe Flacco, who might retire soon.

The audience in Paycor Stadium on Sunday stood up and applauded for the final snap in the match as the Bengals brought out Flacco to execute it.

On 3rd and down, Flacco appeared for a quarterback sneak and subbed for franchise star Joe Burrow. The 40-year-old Flacco dove through the line to pick up a first down, and then left the field.

As he jogged off, the crowd roared to the loudest. For the 40-year-old veteran, this could have been his final Sunday in the NFL. From winning the Super Bowl in 2012 and becoming the MVP, Flacco came back this season, first for the Browns and then for the Bengals.

But is he going to retire? Well, Flacco maintained suspense about a potential decision.

"I’m somebody who wants to play football. You’ve got to assess and see whatever is thrown your way. You have to go from there and see what you can do about it... I haven’t really thought about it. I don’t hope to do anything. I have an idea of maybe of what some goals would be. I’ll go from there and see what happens."

One Thing Is For Certain: The Bengals Got Something Positive From Joe Flacco Last Night

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was asked the reason behind Flacco's cameo. According to him, Flacco taking to the field wasn't just about a last possible game.

"Just (to have) a bigger body there. They were really loading up the front, if you saw some of those short yardage plays. Flacco's obviously a much bigger body."

And it's clear Taylor was happy to have Flacco with the team. He managed to rack up 15 touchdowns with 2479 passing yards with the team.

"I really enjoyed having Joe in the room, getting to know him, sharing laughs and stories. We had a great quarterback room this year that I didn't get to take as much part in it as I would have liked, but when I was in there I had a lot of fun."

Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar