Joe Flacco outduels Aaron Rodgers to lead Cincinnati Bengals to wild Thursday Night Football win over Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin criticized the Cleveland Browns for trading Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals in their same AFC North division.

In just his second game as Cincinnati’s starting quarterback, Flacco responded by increasing Tomlin’s ire via airing it out for 342 yards and three touchdowns to lead a desperate Bengals to a wild 33-31 home win decided by a late field goal on Thursday Night Football.

With the victory, the Bengals (3-4) pulled within a game of .500, while the Steelers fell to 4-2. Ja'Marr Chase wound up with 16 receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown, while Tee Higgins hauled in six catches for 96 yards and a TD as Flacco's biggest targets.

Flacco’s heroics came on a night where Aaron Rodgers inched deeper into NFL history by surpassing Ben Roethlisberger for the regular season’s fifth-most passing yards. Rodgers finished with 249 yards passing and four touchdowns, while tossing two interceptions in the loss.

With Pittsburgh trailing 30-24 and just under seven minutes remaining in the game, Rodgers avoided a sack in the pocket and threw a laser beam to Pat Freiermuth for a 68-yard touchdown pass. That and the extra point gave the Steelers a 31-30 edge with 2:21 left.

Despite the lead, Rodgers and the Steelers allowed Flacco another shot and the fellow veteran QB made the most of it, authoring a decisive eight-play, 52-yard drive, including a 28-yard hookup with Higgins who had a clear touchdown but slid short of the end zone instead.

The heads-up play allowed the Bengals to kneel out the clock and set up what turned out to be a game-winning 36-yard field goal by Evan McPherson for the 33-31 lead, which stood.

Rodgers, who has the most Hail Mary touchdown passes in NFL history, aired it out for the end zone with seconds left but his attempt was batted down, ending a thrilling Thursday Night Football shootout.

Both QBs were on all night, though Flacco's 31 completions in 47 attempts shows how much he shouldered the load as he manufactured three scoring drives during the fourth quarter for the Bengals.