Joe Flacco admitted on “Thursday Night Football” that he was basically winging it for most of the marquee matchup against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Cincinnati Bengals quarterback looked calm and composed all game in front of his home fans inside Paycom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Flacco sliced up the Steelers’ defense to the tune of 342 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Flacco’s most memorable play of the night came courtesy of his 40-year-old legs. The 18-year veteran caught the NFL world off guard when he scrambled for 13 yards on a read option play (video here). Postgame panelist Ryan Fitzpatrick asked Flacco about the play, which allowed the Bengals QB to freely admit that he did not know a lot of what was being called throughout the game.
“So, listen. There were a handful of plays today that I was like, ‘What is [Bengals head coach Zac Taylor] saying?’ We have these formations that end in ‘F’, and I was not getting it.”
this is awesome
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 17, 2025
Joe Flacco admits a lot of play calls tonight he didn’t understand when they were called in
but the zone read was impromptu because the play broke down so quickly so he 💨💨 pic.twitter.com/sx8BgcpojY
Flacco did clarify that he was able to accurately pick up the play call that resulted in his first-down run. But it developed so fast that Flacco realized the best option for him was to make a break for the sticks.
It’s hard to blame Flacco for not mastering the Bengals’ playbook just yet. The man has been there for what feels like 15 minutes.
Flacco’s performance during Thursday’s 33-31 win showed why the Bengals chose him to be the team’s stopgap QB. It takes a veteran of Flacco’s caliber to come in midseason and fill the void for an injured star like Joe Burrow.
Flacco more than held his own against Rodgers, who was also throwing like he was ten years younger. Not bad for a couple of “old guys.”
