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Ben BabyOct 17, 2025, 02:40 AM ET<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).<\/p>\n CINCINNATI — Ten days ago, Joe Flacco<\/a> didn’t know whether he’d get to experience again what he felt Thursday night.<\/p>\n Last week, Flacco was a quarterback who had been benched in his 18th NFL season. On Thursday night, he celebrated another comeback win in the AFC North.<\/p>\n Nine days after his trade to the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>, he led his new club to a 33-31 victory<\/a> over the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> at Paycor Stadium. Needing points on the final drive to win, Flacco propelled the offense down the field, with kicker Evan McPherson<\/a>‘s 36-yard field goal with seven seconds left sealing the victory.<\/p>\n Flacco acknowledged the uncertainty he had felt about getting back to the position he was in Thursday night.<\/p>\n “It felt like I might not, to be honest with you,” Flacco said. “It’s pretty special.”<\/p>\n Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n In the second game following his trade from the Cleveland Browns<\/a>, the 40-year-old helped Cincinnati snap a four-game losing streak. He was 31-of-47 passing for 342 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. It was the first win for the Bengals (3-4) since starting quarterback Joe Burrow<\/a> suffered a turf toe injury in Week 2.<\/p>\n Burrow watched from the sideline with a walking boot on his left foot as Flacco made plays in the closing minutes to prevent Cincinnati from a devastating collapse. The Bengals trailed by a point after leading for the bulk of the contest when Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth<\/a> caught a 68-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers<\/a> with 2:21 left.<\/p>\n But in his 23rd regular-season game against the Steelers (4-2), Flacco delivered. With Cincinnati on the cusp of field goal range, he hit wide receiver Tee Higgins<\/a> for a 28-yard completion down the left sideline that made McPherson’s kick a relatively easy one.<\/p>\n McPherson is among those who have enjoyed having the veteran quarterback on their team.<\/p>\n “I love his attitude and what he brings to the team,” said McPherson, who now has eight career tying or go-ahead kicks in the final two minutes of a regular-season contest. “He’s done a really good job connecting with guys on a really short notice.”<\/p>\n