AFC North rivalry between Steelers and Bengals takes on a touch of gray with Rodgers facing Flacco

Joe Flacco was asked during the preseason about continuing to play at 40 years old. However, Flacco is a youngster compared to his counterpart, 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers. Thursday night's matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals will mark only the third regular-season game between 40-year-old starting quarterbacks. New Orleans' Drew Brees won both regular-season games against Tampa Bay and Tom Brady in 2020. But Brady sent Brees into retirement when the Buccaneers beat the Saints in an NFC divisional round game. "Yeah, it's one thing you guys can't talk about this week in terms of me being older, at least, but it's pretty neat," Flacco said. "I've been in a locker room my whole life, so, you know, age isn't something that I think about. I just view myself as one of those 20-something-year-olds in the locker room. So, it's not something I really think about, but I think one day, when you look back on it, it's just one of those things that'll be pretty cool to be able to have a matchup like this." At the beginning of the season, Flacco thought this matchup would happen when the Browns faced the Steelers last Sunday. Flacco was replaced as Cleveland's starter after four games and then traded to Cincinnati last Tuesday, which stunned most people, including Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. With Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow sidelined until at least mid-December after toe surgery on Sept. 19, many expected them to make a move after Jake Browning was ineffective in his three starts. Few expected it to come from a division rival. "(Browns general manager) 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," Tomlin said on Monday. This will be the fourth matchup between Rodgers and Flacco. Rodgers has won the previous three. "I think it's great for all the old guys. I know that when I watch other sports, maybe it's because I'm the older guy, but I tend to pull for the older guys to win," Rodgers said. "I've known Joe for a long time. He's been great coming to my charity event. He's had a great career, and it's fun that we're both still playing." Rodgers has helped lead the Steelers to a 4-1 start and first place in the AFC North. He is second in the AFC with a 105.4 passer rating, along with 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions. A key to Rodgers' success this season is that his average time to throw is 2.57 seconds, second quickest in the league and his quickest since at least 2016. He has completed 81.1% of his attempts on passes under 2.5 seconds and is averaging 8.2 yards per attempt, which is second best. He will be facing a Bengals defense that allows a league-high 7.7 yards per attempt on quick passes and eight touchdowns, second most. Flacco hasn't had much practice time with the Bengals, but he has developed a quick rapport with star receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. He passed for 219 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers in his Cincinnati debut, but most of that came in the second half after Cincinnati fell behind 10-0 at halftime. Flacco and the Bengals (2-4) will try to snap a four-game losing streak and stay within striking distance of the Steelers. Flacco has faced the Steelers 25 times in his career, including the playoffs, with 24 starts. "He knows their style of play. He knows their level of aggression on defense and played against most of their guys over there," coach Zac Taylor said. "Obviously, he's played them more than anybody has in this league that is currently playing, so I think he's got a great sense of what it takes to win." Quick start needed Cincinnati is hoping to get off to a better start. It has been outscored 79-9 in the first half during the four-game skid and is one of three teams without a first- or second-quarter touchdown in that span. "You've got to be willing and ready to just play the patient game as well. I think we've got to be efficient on early downs. And I think if we do that, then we'll give ourselves a chance to be successful early on in the football game," Flacco said. Going big The Steelers gave their secondary a makeover in the offseason, with all moves designed to help them match up better against Cincinnati's dynamic tandem of Chase and Higgins. Donte Jackson (5-foot-10), Damontae Kazee (5-11) and Minkah Fitzpatrick (6-1) are gone. Jalen Ramsey (6-1), Juan Thornhill (6-0) and Darius Slay (6-0) joined Joey Porter Jr. (6-2) to give Pittsburgh a physical and veteran defensive backfield the team believes is better suited to take on maybe the best wide receiver duo in the league, no matter who the quarterback is. "You'd better have some corners taller than me if you're dealing with the likes of Tee Higgins and people like that," said the 5-foot-11ish Tomlin, who was a wide receiver during his college days at William & Mary. Chase and Higgins have been a problem for the Steelers throughout their careers, combining for 78 catches for 1,194 yards and nine touchdowns in 14 appearances against Pittsburgh. Thursday road woes No team has played on Thursday nights (Thanksgiving Day excluded) more often than the Steelers since the league began playing on Thursdays semi-regularly in 1980. And no team over the past 15 years has lost more Thursday night road games than Pittsburgh, which is 1-9 on Thursdays since 2009. That includes a 0-6 mark against AFC North opponents Baltimore and Cleveland. This will be the first Thursday meeting between the Bengals and Steelers in Cincinnati, and the NFL's longest-tenured head coach doesn't appear to be lingering on his team's Thursday night road shortcomings. "I'm only concerned about 2025," he said. "I got my (butt) kicked in a lot of ways over the last 19 years."