AFC Notes: Chase Brown, Joe Flacco, Tylan Wallace, Bengals, Browns, Ravens

Bengals

Bengals RB Chase Brown had 166 yards from scrimmage in a big win over the Colts, having his breakout game as a rookie. Yet he noted that this is something that didn’t come easy and he will continue to make the best of whatever opportunities he receives during the remainder of the season. 

“It would be cool if it came easy,” Brown said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “But nothing comes easy in life. You have to work for it. Just trusting the process. Things didn’t exactly pick up for me extremely fast when I was in college. I just put my head down and I worked. When my name was called, I did my best to make the most of my opportunities. Eventually, those opportunities came. The same thing here. It’s no different here.”

During the game, Brown was clocked in at a speed of 22.05 mph, the second-fastest speed by a ball carrier this season behind WR DK Metcalf (22.23 mph).

“That’s pretty cool,” Brown commented. “I didn’t really know that statistic. Maybe I’ll write that down or something…It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’m sure it will sink in later as I get to reflect a little bit. I knew I wanted to make a difference somehow. That’s one of the first things I said to (running backs coach Justin Hill). ‘I want to make a difference.’ You don’t know what week that is going to be. But it’s a long season. Seventeen weeks. Just keep on grinding.”

Browns

Browns HC Kevin Stefanski named QB Joe Flacco the starter for the rest of the season, even though he will revert to the practice squad after leading the team to a win over the Jaguars.

“I’m hearing that first here,” Flacco said, via Pro Football Talk. “Listen, just so grateful to have the opportunity a couple of weeks ago. And you never know where things are going to take you. And we don’t know what lies ahead at this point either. But man, it’s been a blast. It’s been so much fun to be back out in that field.”

Flacco commented that he wants to continue to play and is motivated by his children to do what he loves.

“I love the game,” Flacco added. “That’s the first reason. And the second reason is I have a lot of people around me that allow me to believe in myself. I still feel like I can play the game, so that’s the main thing is, you know, I feel like I owe it to myself. I put in all this work. I’m 38 years old. I got the rest of my life ahead of me, hopefully, and you know, I’m going to play football as long as I can. It’s a special thing. And like I said, I think the biggest thing with that is that I have people around me that also believe me and that want me to do it. They also believe I can do it, should do it. I think I’m obviously very fortunate because of that. My kids are a huge driver. I don’t know if . . . I can describe how special it is to be able to play meaningful games in front of my children at the ages that they are. I’m going to remember this forever. You know, they probably will too. But, ultimately, I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life and I think it’s just such a unique experience. You know, my parents have obviously always been there and pushing me along, not allowing me to give up in certain situations.”

• Browns TE David Njoku was fined $16,391 for unnecessary roughness from Week 13.

Ravens

Ravens WR Tylan Wallace commented on his punt return for a touchdown that won Baltimore a very close game over the Rams in overtime. 

“To wipe that all away and make a play like that, on special teams at that, it means the world to me,” Wallace said, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN. “I was about to go down, [but] I can’t go down right here. I made it this far. I’m like, ‘I have to keep going. I have to stay up.’ So, that’s what was kind of going through my mind in that moment.”

• Ravens S Kyle Hamilton is scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of his knee injury. (Adam Schefter)