{"id":6954,"date":"2025-10-18T10:10:33","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T10:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/6954\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T10:10:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T10:10:33","slug":"what-we-learned-from-cincinnatis-33-31-win-over-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/6954\/","title":{"rendered":"What We Learned from Cincinnati’s 33-31 win over Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"

FULL BOX SCORE<\/a><\/p>\n

Flacco delivered a throwback gem as Bengals shocked Steelers. Mike Tomlin\u2019s irritation<\/a> over the \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffJoe Flacco<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff trade wasn\u2019t just an act, it appears. Flacco threw for 342 yards, three touchdowns and coolly led the Bengals on the game-winning drive in the final seconds in his home debut as a Bengal, handing the Steelers their first AFC North loss and getting the best of \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffAaron Rodgers<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff in the \u201cIcy Hot Bowl<\/a>.\u201d Flacco was in total control even when things got hairy, overcoming a slow start and a 10-0 hole to lead scoring drives on seven of the Bengals\u2019 final eight drives. And two came in the first half! The Bengals had gone 30 straight first-half possessions without a TD, then went back to back against the Steelers. The Bengals\u2019 lead slipped away late, but Flacco drove the Bengals the length of the field, with a crucial catch<\/a> by \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffTee Higgins<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff, who intentionally went down before the end zone. What a difference Flacco has made in such a short time. He plays the game with the demeanor — and the countenance — of a contract killer, and that\u2019s exactly what the Bengals needed.Rodgers rallied the Steelers, but they came up short. Aaron Rodgers got the Steelers off to a strong start, but once they had a \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffJaylen Warren<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff TD run called back by penalty, the game turned. Rodgers threw two first-half interceptions, watching a 10-0 lead turn into a 17-10 halftime deficit. The second pick<\/a> wasn\u2019t Rodgers\u2019 fault; it was a great defensive play, with \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffDK Metcalf<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff unable to squeeze the ball in fully. The second pick was a strange-looking play. But Rodgers rallied to lead the Steelers on three second-half TD drives, including a 68-yard missile<\/a> to \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffPat Freiermuth<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff for the go-ahead score on a busted coverage. Freiermuth had a massive second half, but Metcalf had one 5-yard reception in the final 53 minutes of the game. The Steelers also killed themselves with offensive line penalties, and Mike Tomlin opted to punt on fourth-and-4 from his own 45-yard line with just over five minutes left. The Steelers came up a possession short.Chase turned in an epic performance for the Bengals. \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffJa’Marr Chase<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff deserved his own section after the show he put on Thursday night. He caught a club-record 16 passes on 23 targets — tied for the third-most in a game since 1978 — for 161 yards and a touchdown, carving up the Steelers repeatedly. \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffJalen Ramsey<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff, \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffJoey Porter Jr.<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff, \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffDarius Slay<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff and \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffBrandin Echols<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff each had their cracks at Chase, and none truly had success. Even when Chase wasn\u2019t getting the ball, he was drawing safety attention away — such as on \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffAndrei Iosivas<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\u2019s 37-yard catch<\/a> — and drawing penalties from Steelers DBs. Chase had a little trouble hanging onto the football Thursday, dropping a few passes that could have beefed his total even more. Joe Flacco even looked visibly shocked when Chase dropped an easier one late in the game. But he showed the value of what a true WR1 can bring to a game. The Steelers had no answers for Chase.Steelers defense turned in a forgettable night. It was a fairly ugly night for the Steelers defense and a step backward from what they\u2019d done recently. The Steelers appeared to be turning the corner defensively, but Thursday featured sloppy tackling (14 missed tackles), loose coverage and no semblance of a pass rush. It was also a quiet night from the Steelers\u2019 stars on D, including \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffT.J. Watt<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff, at least until very late. This unit was relatively healthy, too, which made the performance all the more disappointing. It\u2019s understandable that the Steelers\u2019 corners struggled with Ja\u2019Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. But they awakened a completely dormant Bengals run game and allowed two of the biggest pass plays to Iosivas and \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffNoah Fant<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff. Plus, even if it didn\u2019t really hurt them, how did they allow Joe Flacco to pick up 12 yards on a read-option keeper<\/a>? Just a bad all-around night on that side of the ball.Run game, timely defensive plays carried Bengals. If you predicted that the Bengals defense and run game would play major roles in an upset of the Steelers, congrats to you. The Bengals hadn\u2019t run for more than 85 yards in a game this season coming in, but they cranked out 142 on Thursday, at 6.2 yards per clip. \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffChase Brown<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff found daylight for the first time really all season with runs of 27<\/a> and 37 yards<\/a>, coming in with a season-long run of 13. And the expectations for a Cincinnati defense that had no \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffTrey Hendrickson<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff and benched \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffCam Taylor-Britt<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff weren\u2019t high coming in either. There was some sloppy tackling and shaky moments in the second half, with the Steelers scoring three TDs to take a late lead. But \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffJordan Battle<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff and \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffDJ Turner<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff had interceptions in a heroic effort from Cincinnati\u2019s secondary. It held DK Metcalf relatively in check and only had a few obvious coverage busts. All told, the units that needed to step up did exactly that.<\/p>\n

Next Gen Stats Insight for Steelers-Bengals<\/a> (via NFL Pro): Aaron Rodgers had two pass plays, both to \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffJonnu Smith<\/a>\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff in the first half, with snap-to-pass times of 8.60 and 8.36 seconds. Rodgers and the Steelers entered Thursday night as the quickest snap-to-pass team in the NFL.<\/p>\n

NFL Research: Aaron Rodgers (64,222\u00a0pass yards) passed Ben Roethlisberger (64,088) for the fifth-most career passing yards in NFL history on Thursday night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FULL BOX SCORE Flacco delivered a throwback gem as Bengals shocked Steelers. Mike Tomlin\u2019s irritation over the \ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeff\ufeffJoe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[3269,6223,6225,3265,6224,3288,3268,3271,3282,6228,3280,3283,3272,3270,3281,6227,3266,6226,3275,73,75,74,1833,3267,3284,3279,6222],"class_list":["post-6954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-aaron-rodgers","tag-analysis","tag-andrei-iosivas","tag-around-the-nfl","tag-brandin-echols","tag-chase-brown","tag-cincinnati-bengals","tag-d-k-metcalf","tag-darius-slay","tag-dj-turner","tag-jamarr-chase","tag-jalen-ramsey","tag-jaylen-warren","tag-joe-flacco","tag-joey-porter-jr","tag-jordan-battle","tag-no-minute","tag-noah-fant","tag-pat-freiermuth","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-regular-season","tag-t-j-watt","tag-tee-higgins","tag-what-we-learned"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}