Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had some not-so-subtle shots for Browns GM Andrew Berry for trading Joe Flacco to an AFC North rival. But Tomlin’s honesty was more about praising the 40-year-old Flacco and expressing frustration for having to face him Thursday night for a pivotal matchup against the Bengals.
So, yeah, after how badly Flacco carved up Tomlin’s defense, it doesn’t make much sense for a quarterback to be viewed good enough to be the Week 1 starter, only to be traded within the division a few weeks later. Actually, it does make some sense, because the Browns have no interest in competing this season, are all about accumulating draft picks and couldn’t care less about where they get them from. Still, it stinks for the Steelers, who thought they had a clear runway to win the AFC North. It also stinks for the Ravens (1–5), who are hoping to make a miracle run once Lamar Jackson is cleared from his hamstring injury.
But the Bengals should be thankful that the Browns don’t value rivalries nor competition. They now have hope for staying afloat because the middle-aged QB turned back the clock in the 33–31 victory over the Steelers, a vintage performance that resembled off-the-couch Flacco from the 2023 season with the Browns. There were even shades of “Flacco is elite” from the 2012 Super Bowl run with the Ravens. Flacco was that good and that clutch in his old-man duel against 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers.
Now, because of Berry’s smart—or dumb—decision, the AFC North race is wide open because the Bengals have Flacco and the Steelers (4–2) got exposed. Cincinnati is 3–4 after snapping its ugly four-game losing streak and now the schedule will get a bit easier with upcoming home games against the Jets and Bears, followed by the second meeting with Pittsburgh before the bye in Week 10. Even if the Bengals win two out of those three games, they’ll at least be within striking distance for a wild-card spot with Joe Burrow possibly close to returning from his toe injury.
I’ll be honest here: I forked the Bengals a few weeks ago. In my defense, that was before Berry traded Flacco to Cincinnati and drew Tomlin’s ire. I’m starting to change my tune and not just because of Flacco’s stellar performance Thursday night. It’s what Flacco got from his rushing attack and opportunistic defense that has me thinking the Bengals have a real shot at saving their season before Burrow returns.
Flacco wouldn’t have torched the Steelers’ aging defense with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins alone, if he hadn’t also gotten the balanced offense from running back Chase Brown, who had a season-high 108 rushing yards against Pittsburgh. It was the first time Chase topped even 50 rushing yards in a game this season and it was by far Cincinnati’s best rushing performance of the year after entering Thursday with a league-worst 56.7 rushing yards per game. The lowly Titans are ranked 31st and have a much better rushing average, with 81.8 yards per game.
There likely wouldn’t have been a 10-point comeback without the Bengals’ two first-half interceptions against Rodgers. This was a total team effort that revived the Bengals’ season, but it was Flacco who closed the show. On the final drive, Flacco had an 18-yard completion to Chase and a 28-yard dart to Higgins to set up the 36-yard game-winning field goal for Evan McPherson with seven seconds left in regulation.
Flacco finished 31-of-47 for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Chase had a whopping 16 receptions for 161 yards and one touchdown, and Higgins contributed six catches for 96 yards and one touchdown. What the Bengals produced Thursday night resembled what they did most of last season during Burrow’s career year. It was an elite offense with a bend-but-don’t-break defense. That play style wasn’t good enough to put the Bengals in the playoffs last season, but they were at least in the mix.
The Bengals were nowhere near the playoff picture after losing to the Vikings, Broncos, Lions and Packers in four consecutive weeks. They’re still in a free fall, but now they have removed the fork from their season and have a realistic chance of playing meaningful football in the coming months after what transpired against the Steelers.
Perhaps asking Flacco to bail them out every week until Burrow returns isn’t feasible, but there’s real hope because of the many contributions Thursday night. Even the offensive line held up, with Flacco only getting sacked twice.
The next time Tomlin talks about the Flacco trade, his shots aimed at the Browns might be even more pointed. Don’t forget to send the thank you card, Bengals.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Joe Flacco’s Vintage Performance Gives Bengals Reason for Hope.
