Joe Flacco Just Unleashed An Embarrassing Take On The Steelers’ Defense

The Pittsburgh Steelers took a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night as the group fell to Joe Flacco for the second season in a row. It felt like the Steelers did not learn their lesson from playing against Flacco during the 2024 season as the game seemed to come easy to the veteran quarterback -- even though he was traded to Cincinnati 10 days prior to the game. The quarterback played a nearly perfect game and he was able to lead his team down the field with ease. The game brought to light some defensive concerns for Pittsburgh, who have already poured a ton of resources into that side of the ball.

Flacco had a spectacular night as he threw for 342 yards and three scores, while succeeding in keeping the ball out of harm's way. He was able to get the ball out quick to nullify the pass rush from Pittsburgh, and the secondary had no answers for the receiving corps from Cincinnati. 

Flacco spoke to the media after taking down the Steelers, and he shared how he has been adjusting to the new offense, even stating that he didn't know what he was doing in some instances.

"Some of these words are so new to me," Flacco said. "There were certain things with formations and things like that that you're hearing for the first couple times. Even though you've read the play a million times, when you hear it, it just wasn't hitting my brain right. There was a few of those, and we were joking on the sideline. Any time that happened, we broke the huddle, and that play hit. We got lucky tonight."

The veteran quarterback seemed to look back on several instances where he did not know what the play was or exactly what was going to happen, yet he and the offense were still able to have success. That says a lot about the current state of the defense in Pittsburgh, as confused offenses are even able to have success and create efficient plays in the passing game.

The quarterback was able to operate the offense almost perfectly for Cincinnati, at least to those watching from home. Everything seemed flawless as he seemed to be able to get the ball to his first read a ton, while also creating some shots down the field. It was a truly inspiring performance for the Bengals on offense as Cincinnati should be able to stay afloat in playoff contention until Joe Burrow returns from injury.

Pittsburgh's defense needs to find a way to work as a cohesive unit. The group has games like this far too often, and the best opposing offenses lie ahead on the schedule. The group will face two tough tests in the coming weeks as Pittsburgh will play the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts.

Steelers' Defensive Issues Still Derive From Being Predictable

For years, current and former players who have gone against the Steelers have said that the defense is predictable. That side of the ball does not change, and that comes down to coaching. 

It explains why a player like Flacco continues to have success against Pittsburgh as he has seen this defense plenty of times over the last two decades.

Pittsburgh needs to change things up on the defensive side of the ball and begin to get creative. There is too much talent on that side of the football for the coaching staff to be wasting it, which is what has been happening for the last several seasons.

What do you think of Flacco not knowing what he was doing on every play? Let us know in the comments below!

#SteelerNation