"Thursday Night Football: The Old Men Can Still Play"

Thursday night football was dubbed "The Unc Bowl," I called it "IcyHot 
Bowl," however you want to name this highly entertaining game. Neither 
quarterback disappointed to their standards, in which both "old" men 
turned back the hands of time. You'd thought it was 2012 prime years 
for Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco. Old man Joe Flacco led the 
Cincinnati Bengals to a 33-31 win over division rival Pittsburgh Steelers. 

What a season saving game it was for the Bengals, after benching Jake
Browning and trading for Flacco, who was in quarterback hell with
Cleveland. Leading up to this game, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin
questioned why the Browns would trade Flacco. It was bulletin board
material and only brought out the best in Cincinnati. Was there some
fear in undercutting this anticipated matchup?

Let's give Cincinnati credit for this much needed win over Pittsburgh. A
flawless blast from the past performance, which Flacco made it look
easy. Only in the building for a couple days, he looked very comfortable.
Even with a below average offensive line, they deserve some love as
well. Bengals receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins had elite
numbers. Running back Chase Brown delivered on the ground, which
was the worse run offense in football.
This win showed Bengals fans the season was still in play, without
franchise quarterback Joe Burrow as he recovers from a turf toe injury.
A defense which is below average played like a top ten by picking off
Rodgers twice. In what was supposed to be a sure win for Pittsburgh,
well... Cincinnati had other plans to spoil the party in their all white
uniforms and a crowd who was cheering from start to finish.

For the Steelers... Man oh man... What did we watch from this "elite
vaunted defense?" In all my years of watching football, it felt like nobody
showed up. Getting worked all night long in the trenches, secondary and
looking very "old" against Cincinnati's average offensive line. Playing
man coverage and drawing penalties, nobody had knew what was going
on. For the most expensive defense in football, give Omar Khan his
money back.

Mike Tomlin's aura of being a great defensive guru has worn off. This
has been the falling card since 2017 and hasn't gotten any better. Yes,
the Steelers can feast off sacks and takeaways, but still allow the third
most yards and points. That's roughly 30th in the league, around Dallas
and Baltimore. I guess the fans were expecting prime Darius Slay, Jalen
Ramsey to help Joey Porter Jr be elite. It's been a disaster for all parties
and fans are beyond tired.

It's the same song and verse; beat up on bad teams and look
incompetent versus good teams. Outside of a lucky win against
Minnesota, Pittsburgh's best win seems like a mirage. Rodgers played
well enough to win this game, four touchdown passes; while Jaylin
Warren rushed for over a hundred yards. I don't blame Rodgers, he was
moving and directing traffic. Nice throws and leading touchdown drives
every chance he could. But this defense cancelled out a blast from the
past performance by Rodgers.

To Mike Tomlin... One of the longest tenured head coaches and still a
good coach. Two Super Bowl berths, winning the title in 2008; losing in
2010. Consummate professional during interviews and media
availability during the week. His mantra of "the standard is the standard"
is where fans are done. What is the standard? Keeping a steak of non
losing seasons, while flaming out in January? Does this accumulate
postseason success and Super Bowls?

Pittsburgh's history of hiring coaches and keeping them around is well
known. Having only three in the existence of their franchise. Chuck Noll,
Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. That's the standard in my humble opinion
and each won Super Bowls while in the building. The noise is louder as
fans continue to voice their rage and disappointment. Tomlin is good,
but not great when he needs to coach his best. The last time Pittsburgh
had a deep playoff run... 2016 when they had the "Killer B's" offense. An
AFC title game versus New England and losing to Tom Brady. Since
then, every playoff game including 2017 have led to an exit.

Since 2020, the Steelers have trailed by double digits in multiple playoff
games. That's not the "standard" and how to win football games. Maybe
the voice has worn thin and everyone needs to be held accountable.
Tomlin is a leader of men, but has failed to adjust in modern NFL. His
coaching style is outdated and teams have caught up with him. If
Pittsburgh were to let him go after this season, who takes the mantle in
restoring order?

For now, we were given a great Thursday night game and two "old"
quarterbacks who can still play at this advanced stage of their careers.
Cincinnati is sitting comfortable in a good spot, while Pittsburgh is left
trying to stay the course and not lose a grip in what'll be their own
demise in the lowly AFC North.