If there’s one performance that encapsulated the disappointing state of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2026 defense, it was Joe Flacco’s Week 7 masterpiece. Just nine days after being traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Cincinnati Bengals, the 41-year-old quarterback walked into Pittsburgh and shredded its defense for 342 yards and three touchdowns in a stunning 33-31 upset.
If it’s even possible, Netflix’s Quarterback series just made that game look much, much worse for Pittsburgh.
“What is he saying?” Flacco said on Netflix of the communication issues he was experiencing throughout that game. “He’s saying something, and I can hear it, but I have no idea what he was saying. I’m calling formations for the first time. There are certain words I am hearing, but they don’t hit my brain as good as I would like them to.”
Flacco's 'Unc Bowl' performance is even crazier when you know the full context 🤯
Formation and headset issues didn't stop Joe from dropping 350 yard and 3 TDs pic.twitter.com/8CfA8jc6cd
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) July 16, 2026
At one point during the game, they caught him in an NFL Films Mic’d Up moment saying “I have no idea what he’s…formation.” Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, that was a drive he ended up scoring on. Flacco finished the day with 342 passing yards and three TDs. That’s more than Aaron Rodgers had in any single game last year.
No, Flacco didn’t somehow master an entire offense with new vocabulary in a matter of days. It turns out that he barely knew what was going on. And he still beat up on the Steelers, who looked completely helpless in the process.
“If I was younger, I’d feel like an idiot, but like, whatever. Who cares?” Flacco said.
Pittsburgh’s supposedly “historic” defense was supposed to be capable of stifling even the most elite offenses in the league. Yet Flacco beat them while still learning the basics of Cincinnati’s system.
As if getting beat by a 41-year-old quarterback who joined the team nine days before the game wasn’t bad enough, this new revelation makes it look so much worse.
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