Joe Flacco carried the Cincinnati Bengals to a win on Thursday night with one of the best games of his lengthy NFL career, and the performance was enough to send one longtime Cleveland radio host into a complete tailspin.
Flacco went 31/47 for 342 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions in the Bengals’ 33-31 Week 7 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 40-year-old quarterback managed to carry the Bengals to a win just 10 days after he joined the team via trade.
When Flacco was traded to Cincinnati, many wondered why the Cleveland Browns would help out an AFC North rival in a deal that amounted to nothing more than a swap of late-round draft picks. Longtime ESPN Cleveland radio host Tony Rizzo revisited that topic on Friday morning, and he went ballistic on the Browns’ front office.
“Why on earth did you feel the need to trade this guy to a division opponent for a fifth-round draft pick? Fireable offense! That is a fireable offense! I want to know how much longer the owner’s gonna watch this crap, because the fans have had it! We deserve better!” Rizzo said. “You’re worried more about your stadium than you are your football team. That’s the perception, (Browns owner) Jimmy (Haslam). You allow these people to do this.
“You have the worst offense in the league. Your GM screwed this quarterback thing up like I’ve never seen! In my life, I’ve never seen anything like it! Kids that play ‘Madden’ could have done a better job, truly. That’s not hyperbole. It’s a joke. It’s a joke. This franchise has become a joke and I’m sick of it.”
"I WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER THE OWNER IS GOING TO WATCH THIS CRAP, BECAUSE THE FANS HAVE HAD IT, WE DESERVE BETTER," – Rizz is OVER it after last night. pic.twitter.com/rZkA6Xs2ME
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) October 17, 2025
Flacco had been benched by the Browns prior to being traded to Cincinnati on Oct. 7. That is why Cleveland viewed him as expendable, but many people have wondered why GM Andrew Berry would throw the Bengals a lifeline. Even Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was openly critical of the Browns over the move.
Rizzo is known for losing his cool on the air, but in this instance most Browns fans feel the same way. It was a terrible look for Cleveland that Flacco played like an MVP in primetime on Thursday night. Things got even worse when Bengals fans unleashed a three-word taunt after the game.
