Joe Flacco decisively claimed his first victory against Aaron Rodgers in their fourth matchup. On Thursday (October 16), Flacco showcased his skills by throwing three touchdowns and completing 65% of his passes, guiding the Cincinnati Bengals to a hard-fought two-point triumph over their divisional rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers arrived in Cincinnati as the firm favorites to secure their fifth win of the year until Flacco stepped in to spoil the mood. Despite falling behind early on, the Bengals crawled their way into the game through touchdown catches from Noah Fant, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins.
Flacco targeted Chase 23 times in the game, of which the last year’s triple crown winner caught 16 for 161 yards (his second 160+ receiving yard haul since the week 2 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars).
The Bengals conceded at least 27 points for the sixth time in the current campaign but hung on to secure a much-needed victory. Cincinnati won 33-31 to improve its record to 3-4 after seven weeks of football with eleven to go.
Joe Flacco proved to be the savior that the Bengals had been searching for
Flacco’s record prior to their recent meeting wasn’t great, but that hardly applied to his record against the Steelers organization. The 40-year-old tormented the Pittsburgh franchise in his youth while starring for the Baltimore Ravens.
According to StatMuse, Flacco held an 11-11 record against the Ravens’ archrivals. The midweek win bumped it up to 12 (advantage Flacco). Now it’s easy to understand the reason behind Mike Tomlin’s annoyance with the Cleveland Brown’s general manager, Andrew Berry, who traded Flacco to the Bengals earlier this month.
It took everyone by surprise. Of course, Flacco was benched for rookie Dillon Gabriel, but he was still the backup ahead of Shedeur Sanders. For the Pro Bowler to jump ship so soon after getting benched definitely made a few heads turn. However, after the result against the Steelers, some Browns fans are questioning the front office’s decision to send their best quarterback to a rival team.
Regardless of the history, let’s not take away Flacco’s influence on the Bengals’ offense, which had stagnated with Jake Browning calling the shots.
Flacco’s three touchdowns at Paycor increased his total to 33 TDs against the Steelers. He only trails Tom Brady (35) by two touchdowns. The Steelers and Bengals meet again in a month, so Flacco will have at least one more chance to overtake Brady.
AP’s NFL stat expert, Josh Dubow, further tweeted that Joe Flacco is only the 9th quarterback ever to win with two different teams in the same season.
Joe Flacco becomes 9th QB to win starts with 2 teams in same season: Joshua Dobbs 2023 (Cardinals, Vikings) Baker Mayfield 2022 (Panthers, Rams) Ryan Mallett 2015 (Ravens, Texans) Matt Cassel 2015 (Bills*, Cowboys) Kyle Orton 2011 (Broncos, Chiefs) Jeff Kemp 1991 (Seahawks, Eagles) John Hadl 1974 (Packers, Rams) Jack Kemp 1962 (Bills, Chargers) *-took 1st snap as wildcat QB in opener for Bills but didn’t play rest of game.
After six games (missed one in Cleveland), Flacco has accumulated 153 completions from 252 attempts for 1376 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions.
