Flacco hit Ja’Marr Chase for an 8-yard touchdown with just under five minutes left in the second quarter. The new kid on the Cincinnati block, Flacco, snapped a 30-drive, 30-drive scoreless streak for the Bengals in the first half. Then he went ahead and led another straight first half scoring drive, this time hitting Tee Higgins for a 29-yard score.
After pulling the Bengals ahead with his arm, the wonder showed he still had something left in his legs. Flacco picked up 2 yards and a first down on fourth-and-1 with a sneak on a Cincinnati field goal drive for a 20-10 lead.
As Rodgers and Pittsburgh cut the deficit to 20-17, Flacco was back, this time finding a pass from former Denver Broncos teammate Noah Fant.
Flacco’s most popular play may well have come on one of the Bengals’ ineffective drives, where he ran for another first down, gaining 12 yards on a read option. He hit a top speed of 15.59 mph, according to Next Generation Stats, perhaps a foreshadowing that the 40-and-steady Flacco would win this contest.
“It was really more of a broken play,” Flacco said. “We just didn’t line up. It wasn’t really a true read option. But I’ve made a few of those, probably in my first three years, I made a few of those in certain situations. But it’s been a while. It just happened. It just happened. So I was like, OK, how can I find somewhere to get down and not be taken out by one of those guys.”
The Fant TD was Flacco’s last of the night, but far from his last highlight.
After Rodgers put the Steelers back ahead on a 68-yard toss to Pat Freiermuth, Flacco took over with 2:15 left and went to the Bengals’ 30-yard line.
Flacco once again stepped up to the plate and was perfect, going 3-for-3 for 61 yards on the ensuing drive. His final contribution on a star-studded night was a 28-yarder to Higgins, who smartly slipped to the ground and allowed Flacco to kneel three times before Evan McPherson booted the game-winner with seven seconds left.
When Rodgers’ magical 69-yard Hail Mary attempt was knocked down, Flacco held off Rodgers for the first time in his career after going winless in the first three games.
Earlier this week, Tomlin let it be known that he couldn’t wrap his head around Browns general manager Andrew Berry trading Flacco to a league rival.
Flacco’s career began in 2008 as a first-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens. He was a Super Bowl MVP and played 11 seasons in Charm City before going to the Broncos, the New York Jets twice, the Philadelphia Eagles (for whom he never played), the Browns twice, the Indianapolis Colts and now the Bengals. Over the years, Tomlin has become very familiar with Flacco at his best.
“Mike’s been doing it for so long and has those guys ready to play every single week for so long now,” Flacco said. “Nothing but respect for him and how he prepares them. I love going against him. When I look back on it all, it’s the wins and the losses, I love all the games. Honestly, when I tell stories, a lot of the great stories come from some of the losses and the bad games you had. And with him and with them, there’s plenty of them.”
As the Steelers head coach pointed out on Monday, Flacco was the Browns’ starter in Week 1. Through four games with Cleveland this season, he has thrown a total of two TDs. In two games with Cincinnati, he has thrown five.
Since 1990, only 11 teams have made the playoffs starting a season with a 2-5 record. In that same span, there have been 45 starts in a 3-4, where the Bengals currently stand.
“Going out and doing that the last six quarters, I think that’s going to give us a lot of confidence,” said Flacco, who threw a touchdown in the second half of the Week 6 loss to the Green Bay Packers. “Hopefully we can carry this over and use it to our advantage.”
Flacco, like he did in 2023 in his first run with the Browns, has given his new club hope. With Joe Burrow, who is recovering from toe surgery, making a surprise appearance on Thursday, Flacco has breathed new life and hope into the Bengals.
From one Joe to the next, the Bengals hope they can go and believe Flacco can hold down the fort until one of the elite QBs in the game returns.
That Thursday night, however, belonged to Flacco, who was traded to Cincinnati just 11 days before defying the odds and Father Time to win a true battle for the ages.
“One of the biggest things is hopefully they’re ready to face challenges,” Flacco said of what he hopes the 11-day stretch will teach his kids. “I think it would have been easy to maybe say, no, I don’t want to do it. Like, ‘Do you want me to play this week?’ You know, I don’t know.” I think it’s one thing, to face challenges and you can’t worry about the outcome. I consider myself a competitor. I consider myself a football player. That’s what I do. The challenge? OK, let me take it on. I consider myself a football player first. No hesitation. Let’s do this. So, whatever you consider yourself to be, there’s a reason for it, and you shouldn’t hesitate when something may look a little scary or something like that. You should jump in and do it.”