The Battle Of The Grandpas Did Not Disappoint On Thursday Night Football

Calling them grandpas may seem a bit extreme but between the two quarterbacks they have existed for over eighty years. That’s old but especially in football years. Nevertheless, the two grizzled veterans put on quite the show. As it was billed as the Battle of the Grandpas, the football game did not disappoint on Thursday Night Football. Neither quarterback was shy about slinging the ball downfield the way they used to do in their prime. As a result the outcome of the game came down to the last few seconds.

Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers got off to a hot start scoring a touchdown on the opening drive of the game. A big part of that drive was when Rodgers connected with a 39-yard deep ball to DK Metcalf to convert on 3rd & 11. The Bengals defense looked out of sorts and certainly missed their top defensive player Trey Hendrickson. But the rest of the first quarter was taken up with punts, the Bengals not being able to capitalize on any of their possessions. The Steelers extended their lead in the second quarter with kicker Chris Boswell making a 41-yard field goal.

But then Joe Flacco led the Bengals on a 14 play, 77-yard drive that ended with a Ja’Marr Chase 8-yard touchdown. Throughout the game, Chase continued to be found  by Flacco for critical catches. Why the Steelers continued to leave him open was certainly a mystery. They kept bracketing other players like Andrei Iosivas. However, following that score, Rodgers was intercepted on a deep ball intended for Metcalf. The Bengals made the Steelers pay for that turnover by driving the ball 72 yards for a 26-yard touchdown caught by Tee Higgins.

Amazingly, Rodgers was intercepted again on their next possession and the Bengals converted it into a 49-yard field goal. They took a 17-10 lead into halftime.

The Battle Of The Grandpas Did Not Disappoint On Thursday Night Football

The Bengals got the ball to start the second half and ate up almost half the time of the third quarter. They increased their lead to 10 points with another field goal. But the Steelers had no intention of conceding the game and answered with a touchdown. Rodgers threw a beautiful deep pass to Pat Freiermuth for the 19-yard score. The fourth quarter overflowed with touchdowns and field goals. The Steelers took back the lead with less than three minutes left in the game when Rodgers found Freiermuth again for a 68-yard touchdown pass.

However, with some savvy clock management the Bengals were able to drain the clock. But the key play was when Flacco threw the ball to Higgins for 28 yards. Higgins chose to go to the ground at PIT 7 forcing the Steelers to use their timeouts. Flacco kneeled on the ball a couple times and then McPherson kicked the 36-yard field goal to win the game. So the Bengals got the 31-33 win over their division rivals.

Considering Flacco had only been with the team for 10 days after being traded from the Browns, he played a great game. It’s no wonder Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin thought the trade was shocking.

Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers Put On A Show Thursday Night

Regarding the trade, Tomlin said:

“To be honest, it was shocking to me,” Tomlin said Monday. “Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me or us because it doesn’t make sense to me to trade a quarterback that you think enough of to make your opening-day starter to a division opponent that’s hurting in that area, but that’s just my personal feelings.”

Given the way Flacco played so well tonight apparently Tomlin was correct. Now with the loss, the Steelers fall to 4-2 while the Bengals rise to 3-4. But Rodgers nicely acquitted himself as well. Despite throwing two interceptions, he also had 4 touchdowns and 249 yards. And the crowd held their breath while he threw a pass over 60 yards to the endzone. But it was batted down to end the game. It was a great game and so much fun to watch!

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