What a game. Encounters like this are a large part of why the NFL has no peer. Two old-man quarterbacks written off several times in recent years showing up and giving us a Marino-Kelly, Elway-Young, throwback classic. Lots to talk about, let's go.
QUARTERBACKS
Just a few weeks ago we and everyone else were writing Joe Flacco his NFL obituary. In four starts for Cleveland he threw 2 TDs, with 6 interceptions, and was under 200 passing yards in three of them. Uh I guess the players around him make a difference? He was 31 0f 47 for 342 yards and 3 TDs that wasn't 4 only because of a surprisingly heady play by Tee Higgins. Flacco was spinning it like a Hall of Famer all night against a defense that had been playing well coming in. Shocking. The old man spins a prettier pass now than he did in his 20s or 30s. He faces the Jets in his next game, 10 days from now, and I think he'll be starting in a lot more fantasy leagues than he was last night. Shocking.
Aaron Rodgers was every bit as good; we could call it less impressive because he was facing a laughably bad defense with literally no pass rush (Trey Hendrickson inactive) that gave him an epically long time in the pocket, or more impressive because he wasn't throwing to Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Several of his incompletions should have been caught, one of the interceptions was a perfect throw that got ripped out of his receiver's hands, and his game-opening touchdown drive was made possible by one of the more impressive 39-yard sideline darts you'll ever see. His final 2 minutes touchdown to give the Steelers a lead that didn't hold up was an amazing throw that not a lot of quarterbacks make; hell, he came close to completing a game-ending 60-yard Hail Mary. I mentioned yesterday I'm actually starting to like the guy these days, but aside from that, it's impossible not to respect what he's doing in Pittsburgh.
Last night was just 2nd-most momentous game Rodgers will play in the next 10 days -- Steelers host the Packers next week. You kind of wish it were at Lambeau, but we can't have everything. Congrats to those who picked up Rodgers and started him over a more highly regarded passer last night, or who took me up on my Index Bets Old Man Parlay (Rodgers and Flacco over 1.5 TD passes each -- let's go).
Final note: Mike Tomlin expressed surprise/annoyance at the Browns trading Flacco within the division this week. Tomlin's concerns proved prophetic; I think we can agree that with Jake Browning out there, the Steelers would have a 3.5-game lead in the AFC North today. Bengals fans at the end were cheering Thank You Cleveland. Indeed.
RUNNING BACKS
Maybe someone can explain what was up with the Steelers defense last night. Letting Flacco ball out, OK, a hot quarterback throwing the ball well is hard to stop in today's NFL. But Chase Brown running for 108 yards, with 37- and 27-yard runs through monster holes? Brown hadn't rushed for 50 yards in a game this season. It wasn't all good for Brown, who killed an early drive by dropping a great pass over the middle by Flacco that would have gone for 20-plus yards, with no one close to him. Brown was probably on benches in a lot of leagues, which he certainly earned by his struggles the first six weeks. He'll be back in every lineup a week from now.
Samaje Perine was also effective, carrying 7 times for 31 yards, often draw plays up the middle out of pass formations. Weirdly, Perine wasn't targeted in the passing game and Brown's actual receptions went for negative yards. Flacco wasn't too interested in making those throws (maybe annoyed after that early drop).
The big performance by Jaylen Warren wasn't quite as surprising given his matchup with the Bengals; we ranked him in the top 10 at his position. But it was still a little surprising, since Warren's last game with 100 rushing yards was two years ago; he's done it two other times in 53 career appearances. No touchdowns, but a reminder of why you start players against the Bengals. It was also more of a featured role than anticipated, with Kenneth Gainwell playing 40 percent of the time but mostly for his pass protection (just 5 touches).
WIDE RECEIVERS
Has Jalen Ramsey retired yet today? One of the more one-sided battles with an elite wide receiver that you'll ever see, with Ja'Marr Chase sticking those of us facing him in a 38-point hole. Supposedly Chase's 23 targets were the 3rd-most ever; he caught 16 of them and probably should have caught 2-3 more. And then Ramsey got burned by Tee Higgins for the catch to set up the winning field goal. I can't say enough about Higgins having the foresight to slide down at the 5-yard line, which granted would have looked horrible if Cincinnati had somehow missed the game-winning field goal, which does happen. But Chase kept getting open in the Pittsburgh secondary, including on that game-winning drive, and Higgins did the same. They combined for 22 catches and 33 targets -- the very picture of "Defense knows what's coming but still can't stop it."
Andrei Iosivas caught 3 passes, with his lone incompletion a drop over the middle. No. 3 wide receiver candidates in Cincinnati don't look like they'll be doing much the way Flacco is jamming it into the top 2.
Frustrating game for DK Metcalf. Quarterback throws 4 TDs, Metcalf catches one of the prettier 39-yard sideline passes on the opening series you'll ever see, and he's the only wide receiver his quarterback is throwing to -- and he finishes 3 for 50, with both missed connections resulting in interceptions, one ripped out of his hands. Unlucky if you started the guy, not much to say beyond, yeah, unlucky. Luckier than Pittsburgh's other wideouts (3 for 26 combined), but everyone knew not to start those guys.
TIGHT ENDS
We'll get Noah Fant out of the way first. With Gesicki (IR) and Hudson (concussion) out, Fant paid off with 4 catches and a touchdown. Enjoy it if you started him, but don't count on much more assuming Hudson is back for the next game.
For the Steelers, well, this was an Arthur Smith resume-building tour de force. Start with Jonnu Smith, who caught the first touchdown only after Connor Heyward failed to haul in a well-thrown ball by Rodgers on the previous play. Rodgers had about half an hour in the pocket waiting for Smith to get open. Not the start of a big night for Smith, however; instead it was Darnell Washington catching a touchdown, followed by Pat Freiermuth catching 2 TDs, the last an amazing throw but also a blown coverage, with Freiermuth taking it 68 yards. Since literally everyone not only wasn't starting Freiermuth but dropped him a few weeks back, should mention that Freiermuth came into the game averaging 1.6 catches for 15 yards. Pittsburgh gave more than 60 percent of the snaps to three different tight ends last night and also used Washington on a Tush Push play.
Going forward? Well, I guess Freiermuth needs to be rostered again, but I'm not sure how you can feel great about starting any of them. Four TEs got end-zone targets, three of them scored. Presuming Rodgers won't regularly throw 4 touchdowns, there will be a lot of disappointment. Smith caught just 2 for 18 after that opening drive touchdown. One target after halftime.
MISCELLANEOUS
The Pittsburgh Defense came into this game with 20 sacks and 10 takeaways (top-3 in both) despite playing one fewer game than most of the league. They recorded 2 sacks and zero takeaways. Hard to figure.
While the Higgins knee was the right move, how nervous were Bengals fans before that game-winning kick? And on the Rodgers Hail Mary in the final seconds, which traveled 70 yards in the air and made it into the end zone with a couple of Steelers in the vicinity.
I don't think I have anything else to say about this besides, I'm not sure we'll get a better Thursday game all year. Check that: I'm pretty sure we won't.