In a surprising twist, Joe Flacco and the Cincinnati Bengals triumphed over Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers in the battle between the two 40+-year old quarterbacks. The final score was 33-31 in favor of the Bengals, with the 40-year-old Flacco and teammate Ja’Marr Chase each having monster performances, as the latter had 161 receiving yards on 16 receptions, with one touchdown.
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was seen angry with his team, as Flacco led a a clutch drive in the final two minutes that set up Evan McPherson’s game-winning field goal with seven seconds left. This soon led to some ridicule from fans, with some comparing him to former Penn State head coach James Franklin, who had a lot of hype as coach but ultimately failing to deliver.
“Mike Tomlin is the James Franklin of the NFL,” commented one Nittany Lions fan page.
Mike Tomlin is the James Franklin of the NFL pic.twitter.com/aoMTbRSGWA
— White Out Football (@NittanyNatRec) October 17, 2025
“Tomlin & Franklin’s mediocrity have really broken a lot of brains. Guy won a game in Y1 of the Obama admin and has been riding it like Grant Haley. Insanity,” one fan noted.
“Absolutely. It’s been torture for 10+ years being fans of these two teams. At least PSU finally snapped out of it (but will now take 2-3 years yet to recover). Can the Steelers please do the same!” said another frustrated fan.
“Cignetti just got the bag to stay with Indiana for the foreseeable future, lol. And now, there’s no obvious replacement to look at who can match what Franklin was able to deliver… lol Let Jerry Jones get Arkansas to open up the wallet, and Franklin to bring in Neuheisel as OC,” one person pointed out.
“Franklin has a boss who will fire him. Tomlin is there for life.” said another fan.
“This is actually spot on. You’d can’t name 5 significant wins in the last 9 years.,” added another person.
Joe Flacco Outplayed Aaron Rodgers During Big Cincinnati Bengals Win
In the head-to-head, 40-year-old Bengals QB Joe Flacco had 342 passing yards with three touchdown passes. He had zero interceptions that night, with his QB rating at 108.6. Meanwhile, 41-year-old Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers had 249 passing yards with four touchdown passes, but had two interceptions. His rating is 103.7.
While Rodgers threw one touchdown pass more, he also got intercepted twice, with Flacco ultimately coming clutch during the game as he was the one who led that final drive with only two minutes remaining.
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