Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

NFL Result Last Night – Joe Flacco Wins the Battle of the Veterans As WR Ja’Marr Chase, RB Chase Brown Show Up Big in Primetime

Bengals win a classic over the Steelers in Joe Flacco's second game under center!

Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Week 7 of the 2025-26 NFL season kicked off with the Pittsburgh Steelers visiting the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers came into this game as the favorites with a 4-1 record. The Bengals, with Joe Flacco under center in just his second game for the team, held a 2-4 record.

With kick-off set for 8:18 p.m. ET from Paycor Stadium on Thursday Night Football (TNF), Cincinnati got the proceedings underway by electing to defer.

FINAL: Flacco gets his first win with the @Bengals. pic.twitter.com/q1IYjz3AjG
— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025

Steelers Draw First Blood

Pittsburgh received the opening kickoff and followed it with a nearly 70-yard drive with a mix of passing and running plays. The highlight of the drive was Aaron Rodgers finding DK Metcalf on 3rd and 11 for a 39-yard reception.

The Steelers run three running plays in a row and get well within the Bengals’ territory. Rodgers then finds tight end Jonnu Smith for a ten-yard reception, resulting in the game’s first touchdown as the Steelers go up 7-0.

The Bengals started things off with a drive that ended without much gain. The Steelers’ defense continued to apply pressure, but a few dropped passes were the reason why Cincinnati couldn’t sustain its initial drives.

Aaron Rodgers is now 5th all-time in career passing yards 📈 pic.twitter.com/Rv1gGyVLVB
— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025

Second Quarter Turnaround for the Bengals

In the second quarter, the Steelers ended another drive with points using their run game effectively. Although they couldn’t get in the endzone, Pittsburgh took a 10-0 lead through a 41-yard field goal by Chris Boswell.

Cincinnati finally got its offense going as a 10-play, 72-yard drive that resulted in a Joe Flacco pass to Ja’Marr Chase for a touchdown. The Bengals reduced the deficit to 10-7 with a drive that saw Chase Brown finally break through the Steelers’ defense for a 28-yard run. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins came up with a couple of nice catches on the drive.

On the ensuing drive, Aaron Rodgers took a risky deep shot in the direction of DK Metcalf. The Bengals’ secondary had it well covered with safety Jordan Battle coming down with an interception.

Chase Brown got the drive started once again with a huge 37-yard run. In no time, Flacco hit Tee Higgins for a 29-yard touchdown, putting the Bengals ahead 14-10 to flip the game on its head.

Flacco finds a window and Higgins does the rest.

BENGALS LEAD!

PITvsCIN on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/AlMG7JOIjD
— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025

Cincinnati’s defense comes back with another big play. Rodgers finds DK Metcalf on the sidelines for what should have been a first down, but DJ Turner rips the ball out of his hands to claim back-to-back interceptions. The Bengals convert that drive into a 39-yard field goal to end the half up 17-10.

Offenses Run the Show in the Third Quarter

The Bengals received the second-half kickoff and marched it down the field, taking 7 minutes of the clock. The Steelers’ defense was able to hold Cincinnati to a 23-yard field goal as the Bengals extended their lead to 20-10.

Pittsburgh rallied back in the ensuing drive, ending with an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass to tight end Pat Freiermuth on a long 3rd and 18. The Steelers cut the Bengals’ advantage to just 3, making the score 20-17.

The back-and-forth contest continued as Flacco diced the Steelers’ secondary again with a 37-yard pass to Andrei Iosivas and followed it up with another throw his way. The drive ended with a five-yard touchdown reception by tight end Noah Fant to put the Bengals up 27-17 just seconds into the start of the fourth quarter.

Topsy-Turvy Game Ends with a Bengals Win

Pittsburgh didn’t take long to respond after going down by 2 scores once again. A couple of good runs, including a 36-yard run by Warren, set the Steelers up with excellent field position. Rodgers found Darnell Washington for another touchdown as Pittsburgh clawed back into the game, down 24-27.

With the Bengals on the prowl once again, the Steelers’ defense came up with a big stop. Cincinnati did, however, kick another field goal to increase its lead to 30-24. As both defenses stepped up their game, the Steelers got the ball back with just under 3 minutes left.

Rodgers found Freiermuth once again for a 68-yard touchdown pass as the Bengals’ secondary blew its coverage. Steelers take back the lead 31-30. But the game continued to deliver as Flacco took control again. Leading the Bengals down the field, an 18-yard completion to Tee Higgins set up the game-winning field goal as the Bengals won 33-31.

AARON RODGERS YOU'RE KIDDING.

68-YARD TD TO FREIERMUTH FOR THE LEAD.

PITvsCIN on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/G657L0t6MG
— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025

Bengals vs Steelers Game Stats

Joe Flacco had an outstanding game for the Bengals, finishing with 342 passing yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. He ended the game with the 30th game-winning drive of his career, which puts him at the number 5 position among active players, while Aaron Rodgers, with 36, is third on that list.

Ja’Marr Chase hauled in 16 receptions, which incidentally was the most Flacco has had with any receiver in his career. Chase’s 16 catches yielded 161 yards and one touchdown. As for the ground game, Chase Brown had 108 rushing yards from just 11 carries.

For the Steelers, Rodgers finished with 249 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, but 2 interceptions as well. Running back Jaylen Warren had 127 yards on the ground, while tight end Pat Freiermuth had 111 receiving yards from 5 catches and 2 touchdowns.

Cincinnati Bengals	Category	Pittsburgh Steelers
470	Total yards	396
328	Passing yards	249
142	Rushing yards	147
2	Sacks allowed	0
4 (35)	Penalties (yards)	7 (59)
0	Fumbles lost	0
0	Interceptions	2

With the win, the Cincinnati Bengals now move up to 3-4 and will face the New York Jets in week 8. The PittsburghSteelers fall to 4-2 on the season and will take on the Green Bay Packers next.

Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

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Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!