Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Cincinnati quarterback Joe Flacco passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns, and Evan McPherson drilled a 36-yard field goal with seven seconds left to lift the Bengals 33-31 over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday in the NFL. Flacco out-dueled Aaron Rodgers in just the third NFL regular-season game to feature two 40-something starting quarterbacks. The 41-year-old Rodgers threw for 244 yards with four touchdowns but was intercepted twice.
Rodgers escaped pressure in the pocket to connect with tight end Pat Freiermuth for a 68-yard touchdown with 2:31 remaining, putting Pittsburgh up 31-30. However, the 40-year-old Flacco piloted an eight-play, 52-yard drive that included a 28-yard pass to Tee Higgins to set up McPherson’s final strike. Cincinnati wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase caught 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown, while Higgins finished with six catches for 96 yards.
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The back-and-forth battle saw the Steelers lead by 10 early in the second quarter and the Bengals ahead by the same margin less than a minute into the fourth. “This is a huge win; we needed it,” said Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor, whose Bengals hadn’t won since star quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a toe injury in week two. With backup Jake Browning struggling, the Bengals acquired Flacco—a Super Bowl winner with Baltimore in 2018—from Cleveland earlier this month.
The Steelers fell to 4-2 atop the NFC North division, while the Bengals improved to 3-4, closing the gap. The Ravens and Browns are languishing at 1-5.
© 2024 AFP
