Bengals stun Steelers in vintage NFL duel

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.Rodgers escaped pressure in the pocket to connect with tight end Pat Freiermuth for a 68 yard touchdown with 2:31 remaining that put Pittsburgh up 31

Pittsburg Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers congratulates Cincinnati counterpart Joe Flacco after the Bengals' NFL victory over the Steelers (Michael Hickey)

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 that put Pittsburgh up 31-30.

But 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 and Higgins finished with six catches for 96 yards.

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, the Bengals improving to 3-4 to close the gap. 

The Ravens and Browns are languishing at 1-5.

bb/pst

Category: General Sports