Joe Flacco's Thursday Night victory proved what's wrong with Browns

Although the Cleveland Browns didn't take part in "Thursday Night Football" during Week 7, they still managed to find a way to look pretty embarrassing.

The Bengals hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers, and newly acquired Cincinnati quarterback Joe Flacco had himself a night, throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Bengals on a game-winning drive.

Flacco, who began as the starting quarterback for the Browns in the first four games, faced significant challenges during his second stint in Cleveland. He managed to pass for 815 yards, but unfortunately, his performance was marked by just two touchdowns and a troubling six interceptions.

The 40-year-old quarterback was traded to the Bengals right before Week 5 in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 draft. In his debut last week against the Green Bay Packers, Flacco threw for 219 yards and tallied two touchdowns.

Remarkably, it took just one game with the Bengals for him to match the number of touchdown passes he threw in four games with the Browns. He actually surpassed that total within the second quarter of Thursday’s game.

Joe Flacco’s been with the Bengals for 10 days and has already thrown more TD passes than he did in four starts for the Browns
— Daniel Oyefusi (@DanielOyefusi) October 17, 2025

Even though the Browns couldn't get any production from Flacco this season, many people around the league knew he could get things done with the Bengals, including Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who wasn't happy that Cleveland made that trade.

"To be honest, it was shocking to me," Tomlin told reporters on Monday, via NFL.com's Jeremy Bergman. "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 probably wasn't upset about the Browns trading Flacco; instead, it was mainly that they sent him to a divisional rival that could potentially challenge the Steelers in the AFC North if things start to click in Cincinnati.

Unfortunately for Tomlin, Flacco managed to outshine him on Thursday. The Bengals' win could pave the way for a few additional victories for Cincinnati, possibly stirring up some chaos in the AFC North.

As for the Browns, they will head into Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins with rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel making his third career start.

Cleveland is aiming to break the 20-point mark for the first time since Dec. 2, 2024, when the Browns managed to score 32 points in a defeat against the Denver Broncos.