Ryan Clark crashed out in hilarious reaction to Bengals' victory over Steelers

On Thursday Night Football, in front of the nation, the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-31.

One of the funnier reactions to the Bengals’ win over their AFC North rival, aside from the crash out of a Browns radio host, came from former Steelers defensive back and ESPN analyst Ryan Clark.

After the game, he went on a rant, dragging a team that did not take the field on Thursday Night. 

Ryan Clark’s Steelers biases front and center vs. Bengals

Clark, in the heat of emotion, went to social media to proclaim, emphatically, that “the Cleveland Browns ruin everything!”

Clark is anything but unbiased. He played for the Steelers from 2006 until 2013. He spent eight of his 17 years in the Steel City. 

Now, as an ESPN NFL analyst, like so many talking heads on TV these days, Clark does not have to hide his biases and allegiances.

Ryan Clark goes nuclear over bold Bengals move

Clark did not hold back with a post-game verbal lashing. However, his ire was not directed at the Steelers, nor the Bengals, as he set his aim directly at the Cleveland Browns.

Last week, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin excoriated the Browns for daring to trade quarterback Joe Flacco within the division.

Surely commenting on the affairs and roster moves of another NFL team has to be some fineable offense. It might not fall under tampering, but it does feel like something akin to that.

After the conclusion of the game, Clark took to Twitter to voice his thoughts on that particular matter. Not the game, or the fantastic finish, or how well each of the offenses performed. Not even a syllable about how fellow member of the defensive back brethren, D.J. Turner, is blossoming into a superstar on the national stage. 

Clark went to social media with rage in his eyes, hate in his heart, and two things on his mind: Joe Flacco and the Browns. 

In his rant, Clark said, amongst other things, 

“Bro, I ain’t like him since he came into the league when he was there a Baltimore Raven. He done been to Cleveland Brown. He done been to Cincinnati Bengals. The man spent his whole adult life trying to terrorize the Pittsburgh Steelers. And right when we could take hold of the AFC North, be at the top of the dang AFC, he come and do this. The Browns ruin everything. They should have kept that man on the bench backing up Dillon Gabriel.”

Steelers of a feather flock together. Clearly, Clark and Tomlin were on the same page. And after last night’s performance, so are most Steelers fans. 

At one point in his diatribe, Clark even dropped in a “this man is ancient” as smoothly as a Flacco pass to Tee Higgins between the numbers for a touchdown. 

But Clark forgot that the Steelers QB’s career is also long in the tooth. Also, the “ancient” one just took the time stone and traveled back in time to his first-round self to threaten Pittsburgh’s 2025 universe. 

Cleveland's trade sparks gratitude from Bengals fans

But of course, not everyone is upset with Browns’ General Manager Andrew Berry sending Flacco to Cincinnati. 

Clark was wrong when he said, “The Browns ruin everything.” In fact, they breathed life into a team, franchise, and city. And that fanbase voiced their appreciation.

During the post-game interview on Prime’s Thursday Night Football broadcast, Joe Flacco and Ja’Marr Chase sat and listened to the sweet serenade of “thank you, Cleveland!“

Thank you, Cleveland, indeed.

Just ten days before facing the dealers, the Browns traded Flacco to the Bengals in exchange for an exchange of fifth-round and sixth-round picks in the 2026 NFL draft.

As it turns out, that was a minimal price to pay for the hope that fans in the Queen City are now feeling.

Ryan Clark was correct to fear Joe Flacco

The positive results weren’t immediate after the acquisition of Flacco, but they did come quickly.

Things started slowly for the new Bengals’ quarterback in the first half against the Green Bay Packers in his first outing as the Bengals starter, just five days after he arrived in Cincinnati.

However, we got a glimpse of what could be in the second half against the Packers. And as it turns out, a foreshadowing of things to come.

Fast-forward to last night, and we now know exactly what the Bengals are capable of with Flacco at the helm. They showed they can take down the rival Steelers and prevent them from running away with the division title with relative ease.

Now, instead of having a 3.5 game lead over everyone within the division, the Bengals have closed that gap to 1.5 games with the all-important early tiebreaker.

Just like Ryan Clark and Mike Tomlin, we understand their frustration with the trade.

Nevertheless, all of us here at Stripe Hype would like to formally join in the chorus that rang out at Paycore Stadium and say “thank you, Cleveland.“

Thank you, Anderw Berry, for making the deal. 

Thank you, Joe Flacco for showing up and showing out. 

And last but not least, thank you, Bengals front office, for making a move that brought the veteran QB to Cincinnati and, for now at least, giving the city and fans hope that the season is alive and well. 

And thank you, Ryan Clark, for making the victory that much sweeter with an epic rant.

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