CINCINNATI — Ten days ago, Joe Flacco didn’t know if he would relive what he felt Thursday night.
Last week, Flacco was a quarterback who was benched in his 18th NFL season. On Thursday night, he celebrated another comeback victory in the AFC North.
Nine days after his trade to the Cincinnati Bengals, he led his new club to a 33-31 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium. Needing points on the final drive to win, Flacco propelled the offense down the field, with kicker Evan McPherson’s 36-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining sealing the victory.
Flacco acknowledged the uncertainty he felt about returning to the position he held Thursday night.
“To be honest with you, I felt like maybe that wasn’t the case,” Flacco said. “It’s pretty special.”
In the second game after his trade to the Cleveland Browns, the 40-year-old helped Cincinnati end a four-game losing streak. He completed 31 of 47 passes for 342 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the first victory for the Bengals (3-4) since starting quarterback Joe Burrow injured his turf toe in Week 2.
Burrow watched from the sideline with a walking boot on his left foot as Flacco played in the final minutes to prevent Cincinnati from a devastating collapse. The Bengals trailed by one after leading for most of the game when Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth caught a 68-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers with 2:21 remaining.
But during his 23rd regular season game against the Steelers (4-2), Flacco kept his promises. With Cincinnati on the cusp of a field goal, he hit wide receiver Tee Higgins for a 28-yard run down the left sideline, making McPherson’s kick relatively easy.
McPherson is among those who appreciated having the veteran quarterback on their team.
“I love his attitude and what he brings to the team,” said McPherson, who now has eight career tying or kickoff kicks in the final two minutes of a regular-season game. “He did a really good job connecting with the guys on very short notice.”
Flacco did most of his connecting with Higgins and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase against the Steelers. Chase set a franchise record with 16 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown. It was his ninth game with more than 150 receiving yards, passing Jerry Rice for second most in the first five seasons of an NFL career.
Chase once again praised the franchise’s decision to acquire Flacco to be the starting quarterback.
“It’s honestly good to have him here for us,” Chase said. “The organization took a big step forward. We believed in him. We got him. He came in, did his thing and showed up for us.”
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Flacco’s experience was crucial in a game Cincinnati “needed to have.” And the veteran almost made it look effortless.
“It’s easy for him,” Taylor said. “And it’s not, because he gets the job done. He’s so experienced in this situation. You get a lot of confidence from him because he goes out there. [and] It’s not too big.”
Last week, Flacco was driving down Interstate 75, talking to Taylor on the phone as the coach began explaining as many rules as quickly as possible. Despite his experience, Flacco wanted to make sure he didn’t lose an opportunity.
On Thursday night, Flacco talked about the relief his family likely felt seeing him finish another game. In his postgame press conference, Flacco said he was eager to hear how that relief turned into excitement.
“I can’t wait to talk to my wife tonight and hear it in her voice and all those things,” Flacco said. “Talk to [family] it reminds you how special it is.
