Joe Flacco outduels Aaron Rodgers as Bengals beat Steelers in thrilling fashion
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NFL fans ended their three-game losing streak with a thrilling 31-30 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at home for the Cincinnati Bengals on “Thursday Night Football.”
Desperate for a win after starting the season 2-0, the Bengals are now 3-4 while the Steelers have fallen to 4-2 this year.
Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco, though long past their prime, put on a show like they did in the early 2010s in Cincinnati.
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Joe Flacco of the Cincinnati Bengals throws a pass to the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter of the game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 16, 2025. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
It all started with Rodgers, who got better in his first season with the Steelers. Jonnu Smith needed just eight plays to go 69 yards for a touchdown from 10 yards out; So he scrambled, scouted around and hit the man for a seven-point lead.
For Flacco, success did not come immediately in his first game with the Bengals, as they had to punt twice. But the third possession saw the push that Bengals fans have been desperate for since Flacco was traded from the Cleveland Browns to relieve Jake Browning of starting duties.
Flacco went 10 plays and 72 yards and found Ja’Marr Chase on one of many passes, which set up an eight-yard touchdown pass to make it 10-7.
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Then, as the momentum shifted to the home team, Cincinnati’s defense immediately stepped in. On an incredible play, Jordan Battle intercepted Rodgers, took the ball from DK Metcalf’s hands, and stayed infield while doing so. Flacco seized the opportunity and found Tee Higgins, who ran over multiple Steelers defenders for a 29-yard touchdown.
On the ensuing drive, Rodgers would be ejected from the game again, and the Bengals made it into the locker room with a field goal before the end of the first half to take a surprising 17-10 lead.
If the first half wasn’t crazy enough, the second half blew the doors off the divisional games in the first half. Flacco found Noah Fant and Rodgers used tight ends Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington to make it 27-24.
Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers throws a pass to the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter of a game at Paycor Stadium on October 16, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
The Bengals were able to force a field goal attempt to Evan McPherson, who buried it to extend the lead to 30-24, but Rodgers seized the opportunity late in the fourth quarter to give his team the lead they had been chasing since the first quarter.
With 2:21 left on the clock, Rodgers broke free of the pressure and when he saw Freiermuth alone on the field, his eyes lit up and he threw a pass towards him, which was caught and it was off to the races. Freiermuth tied the score with a 68-yard field goal and the extra point was good for Pittsburgh to take a 31-30 lead.
But was that score too quick for the Steelers considering how Flacco and the Bengals’ offense played? I am sure.
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Flacco once again ripped the Steelers’ defense apart with a seven-play drive capped off by a perfectly placed 28-yard touchdown pass to Higgins; Higgins wasted time smartly sliding in the red zone, giving McPherson a walk-off field goal chance. He scored from 36 yards out and the crowd at Paycor Stadium was going wild as he finally got back to the winning row.
Looking at the box score, Chase broke his own franchise record for most receptions in a single game, hauling in 16 of 23 targets from Flacco for 161 yards and a touchdown. Those 23 targets were the most a player had by a mile in the NFL all season.
Higgins also added 96 yards with a touchdown on six catches, while Chase Brown, after struggling in the first six games, finally got the offensive play he wanted with 108 yards on 11 carries.
Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals celebrates after scoring a touchdown during a Pittsburgh Steelers NFL football game at Paycor Stadium on October 16, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
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Flacco finished an incredible 31-of-47 for 342 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. As for Rodgers, his patented Hail Mary ultimately didn’t work. He was 23-of-34 for 249 yards with four touchdown passes and two interceptions.
Jaylen Warren tallied 127 yards on the ground and 31 air yards on four catches, while Freiermuth had his breakout game this season with 111 yards on five receptions.
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