Bengals hoping ‘Joe Calm’ can coolly keep their season on track after late heroics vs. Steelers

By Canadian Press on October 17, 2025.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Leave it to a long-time Bengals season ticket holder to come up with the proper nickname for Joe Flacco.

With Joe Burrow already established as Cincinnati’s “Joe Cool,” Jeff Wagner’s banner hanging in the upper deck for Thursday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers said “Joe Calm to the Rescue.”

It was the perfect description for Cincinnati’s 33-31 victory against its AFC North rival. Wagner and Bengaldom are hoping it can also sum up the remainder of the season.

“We had a short week playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that we needed to have. It’s easy for him … because he’s putting in the work,” coach Zac Taylor said. “He’s just so experienced in this situation. You gain a lot of confidence from that, because he goes out there and it’s not too big (for him).”

Flacco passed for 342 yards, completing 31 of 47, including three touchdowns, as the Bengals snapped a four-game losing streak.

The 40-year-old Flacco completed all three of his passes for 61 yards on the go-ahead drive, which was capped by Evan McPherson’s 36-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins both had key receptions on the drive.

“If you can’t get on the same page with those kind of guys, then you know, what are you doing? They’re pretty special. You can kind of read their body language. They get open, so it’s easier to throw to them,” Flacco said.

Whether Flacco can recreate his 2023 magic, when he got Cleveland into the playoffs after being a late-season signing, remains to be seen. However, it is starting to look like deja vu.

Two years ago, Flacco lost his first Cleveland start before winning the next four. He averaged 340.5 yards passing during that winning streak with a 62.5% completion rate, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The Bengals are 3-4, but 2-0 in the division. They have the chance to go on a run with home games against the New York Jets and Chicago before a bye on Nov. 9. Their first game back is in Pittsburgh.

Burrow was on the sideline for the first time since having toe surgery on Sept. 19. He remains on track for a mid-December return, and thanks to Flacco’s heroics, there is a chance he could come back with the Bengals still in playoff contention.

“You hope you can come in here and play well and you always want to, especially when you get guys that are good at playing football,” Flacco said. “You want to go show them like, ‘Hey man, we’re going to do some good things.’ You hope that they feel that way, but now to go out there and have done it for like the last six quarters, I think it’s going to give us a lot of confidence and hopefully we can carry that over and use it to our advantage.”

What’s working

The running game. The Bengals averaged 6.2 yards per carry on the ground, and got great push up front from the offensive line, allowing Chase Brown to have the second 100-yard rushing game of his career with 108 yards on 11 carries.

What needs help

Better starts by the defense. Opponents have scored five touchdowns (one rushing, four passing) on the seven opening drives. Aaron Rodgers’ 10-yard TD pass to Jonnu Smith is sure to anger defensive coordinator Al Golden. Rodgers held onto the ball for 8.598 seconds before connecting with Smith in the end zone.

Stock up

The offensive line, which allowed only a 24.5% pressure rate on Flacco (it was 36% in the first six games). RT Amarius Mims allowed only two pressures and half a sack to Steelers All-Pro pass rusher TJ Watt on 25 one-on-one matchups.

Stock down

CB Cam Taylor-Britt was a healthy inactive. When asked why Taylor-Britt did not play, Taylor said: “We just have other DBs we’re going to give a shot to.”

Injuries

DT Trey Hendrickson was inactive due to a hip injury he suffered during the first half of the Oct. 12 game against Green Bay. The mini bye week should give Hendrickson more time to rest.

Key numbers

4: Players with two games in a season with at least 14 catches. Chase became the fourth with a franchise-record 16 receptions.

23: Times Chase was targeted as the intended receiver, also a franchise record since it started getting tracked in 2000. The old mark was 20 by Peter Warrick in a 2001 game against the Steelers.

What’s next

The Bengals will look to get back to .500 when they host the New York Jets on Oct. 26.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Joe Reedy, The Associated Press