The Cincinnati Bengals and their new quarterback Joe Flacco pulled off the seemingly impossible on Thursday night, knocking off the rival Steelers in a 33-31 thriller at Paycor Stadium.
In a matchup of old-head QBs, Flacco outdueled Aaron Rodgers to the tune of three TDs passes, 342 yards through the air, and a game-winning field goal drive. Pretty clear Flacco was the man for the tall job of filling in for Joe Burrow.
As if Steeler Nation wasn't irked enough about a former Baltimore Raven defecting to another AFC North adversary and shredding them all night in prime time, Flacco's hysterical postgame interview only puts salt into their wounds.
Bengals QB Joe Flacco just wanted to go to bed in hilarious Week 7 postgame interview
First of all, big ups to Flacco for picking up Zac Taylor's playbook so fast, and getting on the same page with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins as quickly as he did. Chase had twenty-three targets that netted 16 catches for 161 yards and a TD. Higgins had six grabs, 96 yards, and a score of his own.
Flacco was asked by the Amazon Prime crew afterwards about what it's been like to throw to the Bengals' dynamic wide receiver duo. He almost couldn't get the words out fast enough as he gushed about them both.
"It's funny, after last week's game, it wasn't even like we did anything crazy, but I was on the phone with my dad. I was on the phone with my couple of brothers. And we were just laughing at how absurd they are."
Joe Flacco can't help but laugh knowing he has Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to throw too 🤣 #TNFonPrime pic.twitter.com/G2qfP4n0v5
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) October 17, 2025
What stood out most to Flacco was how absurdly strong Chase and Higgins are at catching the football with their hands, as opposed to letting it hit them in the chest. It creates a greater margin for error as far as where Flacco can put the ball.
Boasting about such elite wideouts has to hurt Pittsburgh, whose cast of pass-catchers on the perimeter is limited to DK Metcalf and not many other weapons to write home about. Metcalf also got the ball taken away from him by DJ Turner on a critical, game-changing interception before halftime.
The Flacco interview shifted to family matters and about how his kids were likely staying up to watch him ball out with his new team. My favorite quote was when the crew asked Flacco if he was ready for bed, to which he responded, "Man I've been ready!"
.@JoeFlacco is just ready for bed 😂 #TNFonPrime pic.twitter.com/fk2BmW2wAl
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) October 17, 2025
Imagine that. Yinzers in their feelings about Flacco rediscovering the Fountain of Youth, just as Pittsburgh was on the precipice of seizing a commanding edge in the division.
Hey Steelers, you just got beat by a guy who'd almost as easily be kicking it with the fam, or fast asleep by now after putting his kids to bed. How does it feel?
Bengals are 2-0 in the division. Burrow is on track to return in mid-December. Flacco's got extra time to gear up for a winless opponent in Week 8. The New York Jets secondary must be shaking in their boots right about now.
To think that Flacco might be even more mentally sharp playbook-wise and time-of-day wise when that 1 p.m. ET kickoff time rolls around against Gang Green on October 26. Hehehe.