Thursday night’s matchup between the Steelers and Bengals turned into the shootout that no one was expecting.

The game that had been dubbed the “Icy Hot Bowl” and “Unc Bowl” for the veteran quarterbacks leading both teams—41-year-old Aaron Rodgers with Pittsburgh and 40-year-old Joe Flacco with Cincinnatiturned into an offensive showcase, with the Bengals ultimately leaving with a 33–31 victory.

After the game, Flacco joined ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter and shared what he said to Rodgers after the game went final.

"It was a lot of fun to go against Aaron today,” Flacco said. “The Steelers, I’ve played them so much, they’re such a familiar foe. I told Aaron after the game, I don't think I've ever beat him head-to-head. That was a lot of fun to be able to get that done today."

Indeed, Flacco was 0–3 against Rodgers in three career meetings between them before Thursday night. Given they spent the majority of their careers in separate conferences, it’s not surprising that they haven’t had too many matchups against each other, but now as divisional foes, its a head-to-head contest that we will see again in just a few weeks, barring injuries.

While Flacco got the win, it was a monster night for both quarterbacks

For both Rodgers and Flacco, it was the best passing game we’ve seen in years.

Rodgers threw for four touchdowns, including two beautiful balls to tight end Pat Freiermuth that found the end zone. Despite the scores, his most impressive pass of the night might have been his absolute missile of a Hail Mary that fell incomplete at the end of the game. The ball traveled just shy of 70 yards in the air, and was the longest recorded throw since 2017 according to Next Gen Stats.

Meanwhile, Flacco finally was able to kickstart the electric passing potential of the Bengals receiving corps, with Ja’Marr Chase setting a franchise record with 16 receptions on the night. He even made a play with his legs, taking a read option for a first down on a play that made him look like a spry 36-year-old.

Both the Steelers’ offseason acquisition of Rodgers and the Bengals’ mid-season acquisition of Flacco were made for a similar reason—these are teams with extremely solid cores, and getting quarterback play that was average to slightly better than average from a veteran who could minimize turnovers gave them a chance to make a run.

On Thursday night, both teams had to be happy with the results, even if the Steelers left with a loss. They’ll have their chance to get the win back in Pittsburgh in just four weeks.


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Joe Flacco Had a Comical Message for Aaron Rodgers After Balling Out in ‘Unc Bowl’.

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