“That’s why we do it.”

Flacco hit Ja’Marr Chase for an 8-yard touchdown with just under five minutes left in the second quarter. The new kid on the block for Cincinnati, Flacco ended a mind-blowing 30 scoreless drives in the first half for the Bengals. Then he took the lead and led a second straight first-half scoring drive, this time hitting Tee Higgins for a 29-yard score.

After pulling the Bengals forward with his arm, the prodigy showed that he still had something left in his legs. Flacco picked up 2 yards and a first down on fourth-and-1 with a sneak on a Cincinnati field goal for a 20-10 lead.

When Rodgers and Pittsburgh cut their deficit to 20-17, Flacco was back, this time finding former Denver Broncos teammate Noah Fant for a touchdown pass.

Flacco’s most jaw-dropping play might very well have come on one of the Bengals’ unsuccessful drives, during which he ran for another first down, gaining 12 yards on a read-option play of all things. He reached a top speed of 15.59 mph, according to Next Gen Stats, perhaps an omen that Flacco, 40 years old and steady, would win this race.

“It was more of a broken play,” Flacco said. “We just didn’t align well. It wasn’t really a real read option. But I did a few, probably in my first three years, I did a few in certain situations. But it’s been a while. It kind of happened that way. It just happened. So I was like, okay, now how can I find a place to sit and not get knocked out by one of these guys.”

The Fant TD was Flacco’s last of the night, but far from his last highlight.

After Rodgers rallied the Steelers with a 68-yard throw to Pat Freiermuth, Flacco took over with 2:15 left at the Bengals’ 30-yard line.

Coming up one more time, Flacco was perfect, 3-for-3 for 61 yards on the ensuing drive to the field goal. His final completion on a star-studded night was a 28-yarder to Higgins, who smartly slid to the ground, allowing Flacco to kneel three times before Evan McPherson scored the game-winner with seven seconds remaining.

When a stunning 69-yard Rodgers Hail Mary try was missed, Flacco earned a victory over Rodgers for the first time in his career, after going winless in their first three meetings.

Earlier this week, Tomlin let it be known that he couldn’t understand Browns general manager Andrew Berry trading Flacco to a division rival.

Flacco’s career began in 2008 as a first-round draft pick of the Baltimore Ravens. A Super Bowl MVP, he played 11 seasons in Charm City before stints with the Broncos, the New York Jets twice, the Philadelphia Eagles (for whom he never played), the Browns twice, the Indianapolis Colts and now the Bengals. Over the years, Tomlin has become very familiar with Flacco at his best.

“Mike has been doing it for so long and his guys have been ready to play every week for so long now,” Flacco said. “Nothing but respect for him and the way he prepares these guys. I love going against him. When I look back on it all, it’s the wins and the losses, I love all the matches. Honestly, when I tell stories, a lot of the great stories come from some of the losses and the bad matches that you had. And with him and with them, there’s plenty of them.”

As the Steelers head coach pointed out on Monday, Flacco was the Browns’ Week 1 starter. In four games with Cleveland this season, he has thrown a total of two touchdowns. In two games with Cincinnati, he started five.

Since 1990, only 11 teams have made the playoffs by starting a season at 2-5. In that same span, 45 have made it after starting 3-4, which is where the Bengals currently stand.

“Going out there and doing it the last six quarters, I think it’s going to give us a lot of confidence,” said Flacco, who threw two touchdowns in the second half of a Week 6 loss to the Green Bay Packers. “Hopefully we can keep that and use it to our advantage.”

Flacco, just as he did in 2023 during his first stint with the Browns, gave his new club hope. With Joe Burrow, recovering from toe surgery, surprisingly in attendance Thursday, Flacco breathed new life and hope into the Bengals.

From one Joe to another, the Bengals are hoping to get going, believing Flacco can hold the fort until one of the game’s elite QBs returns to play.

This Thursday night belonged to Flacco, who was traded to Cincinnati just 11 days before defying the odds and Father Time to prevail in a true battle for the ages.

“One of the most important things is that they will be ready to take on challenges,” Flacco said of what he hopes this 11-day period will teach his children. “I think it would have been easy to say, no, I don’t want to do that. Like, ‘Do you want me to play this week? You know, I don’t know.’ I think that’s one thing, it’s taking on challenges and not worrying about the outcome. I consider myself a competitor. I consider myself a football player. That’s what I do. The challenge? OK, fine, let me take care of it. I consider myself first and foremost a football player. No hesitation. Let’s do this. So whatever you consider yourself to be, there’s a reason for it, and you shouldn’t hesitate when something might seem a little scary or something. You should go ahead and do it.”