At 40 years old and with 17 full seasons under his belt, one would think Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Flacco to be relatively unflappable. But sounds like all it really takes to get his nerves going is a couple of good wide receivers.

Speaking on an episode of the Fitz & Whit podcast released Wednesday, Flacco admitted that he was actually a touch nervous the first time he threw passes to Bengals wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, two of the best receivers in the league.

"I know I'm 40 years old, but the first couple times I threw to Ja'Marr and Tee, I was a little bit nervous," Flacco told hosts Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth. "I'm like, man, I want them to know ... I want to hit these guys, I want them to know I can put some nice touch on it, I can put it where you want it. I overthought it, for sure."

Honestly, a humanizing anecdote literally anyone can relate to—the feeling of wanting someone you admire to admire you in return.

"One of the first balls I threw to Ja'Marr, he was running one of these little skinny posts we have, and he was a little bit deeper than I thought he was gonna be. And I missed him. And I was just like, 'Aw, man, he thinks I suck,'" Flacco admitted. "And I don't do that very often, especially in routes vs. air. So I was like, 'Damn, stop overthinking it. Just throw the damn ball.'"

Ultimately, though, "with those guys, especially, just put it somewhere around 'em and they'll make you look good."

The Bengals are hoping Flacco can keep their season alive long enough for an injured Joe Burrow to return in the playoffs. That is, of course, a lot of pressure, especially if you want Chase and Higgins to think you've still got it.

The good news, though, is that he seems to be off to a pretty solid start on that front. In the Bengals' most recent game, Flacco targeted Chase and Higgins 23 and 10 times, respectively—the most and second-most in the box score—and both wideouts had touchdowns. So hopefully he has relaxed a bit; the team is already looking a lot better than it did just a few games ago, and they have Flacco to thank.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Joe Flacco Had Surprising Admission About Throwing Passes to Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins.