PITTSBURGH — On Nov. 11, 2018, the Steelers ended the Joe Flacco era and ushered in the Lamar Jackson era in Baltimore. They knocked Flacco around and held the Ravens to 265 total yards in a 23-16 victory at M&T Bank Stadium, sending their hated rival into their bye week with a 3-5 record and an injured starting quarterback.

Flacco injured his hip early in the first quarter, but he finished the game. When the Ravens came back from their bye week, they started Jackson, then a green rookie, who led the Ravens to six wins in a seven-game stretch to overtake the Steelers and win the AFC North.

Six teams and seven years later, the Steelers will meet Flacco again on Thursday night when the Cincinnati Bengals, his newest team, play host to the Steelers.

Flacco, who had one of the greatest postseason runs in NFL history when he led the Ravens to a Super Bowl title in 2012, has played for the Denver Broncos, New York Jets (twice), Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns (twice) and now the Bengals after the Browns traded him last week for a fifth-round draft choice.

"The guys that do that, the guys who come back from that ... I was with Joe in Baltimore, so I know he is mentally tough," said Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, who was an assistant coach in Baltimore from 2011-13. "He doesn't let things bother him. He's a good football player and he never wavers in that belief.

"I have an appreciation for guys like him, guys that may bounce around a little bit but all of a sudden, they show up. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery to do it even better."

Flacco was a backup for a few of those years, but he earned the starting job in Cleveland earlier this year, and the Bengals started him on Sunday against the Packers only four days after acquiring him.

Thursday's game marks only the third time in NFL history when there will be two starting quarterbacks who are 40 or older facing off against each other. Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will turn 42 in December. The only other time it happened was in 2020, when Tom Brady and Drew Brees played twice.

Steelers captain Cam Heyward, at 36 the second-oldest player on the team, joked Thursday night's game should be called the "Icy Hot Bowl." Rodgers said, "It's great for the old guys."

"He's been a great ambassador for the league," Rodgers said of Flacco. "He's had a great career, and it's fun that we're both still playing. He's one of the old school 2000s, 1990s prototypical quarterbacks. There were so many of them when I was coming into the game — the big guys who had the big arms. Now you're seeing smaller guys and obviously some really athletic guys playing the position.

"I think he would agree with me — when you watch those guys play, you feel like they're playing a different position because of the athleticism and the way the game is called. There is more read option called. You're seeing more of the college game in the NFL. But I've always enjoyed watching Joe play. I have a lot of respect for him and his game."

This is Flacco's first start against the Steelers since that fateful November day in 2018, but he did come off the bench to beat the Steelers when he was Indianapolis' backup last season. In a twist of irony, the Steelers knocked Anthony Richardson out of the game, just as they had Flacco six years earlier in Baltimore.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has a lot of respect for Flacco and told his defense to "keep Richardson upright" in that game because he knew Flacco was more capable of beating his team.

"Don't put Flacco in the game, and Flacco ended up in the game," Tomlin lamented.

It wasn't a slight at Richardson as much as it was respect for Flacco, a player who has a long history with Tomlin and the Steelers. Tomlin's respect for Flacco was evident again this week when he took Browns general manager Andrew Berry to task for trading such an accomplished quarterback within the division.

It didn't take long for Flacco to pick up Cincinnati's offense. He threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in his first game with the Bengals in a 27-18 loss to the Packers.

"I would imagine there would be a certain level of excitement, those guys having Joe Flacco in a home venue on a Thursday night and some prime-time ball," Tomlin said. "He can throw the football and he's always been able to throw the football. Arm strength, arm accuracy, anticipatory passer, fluid movement through progressions ... that's always been his game."

The Steelers and Flacco go all the way back to his rookie season in 2008. The Steelers beat him three times that season, including in the AFC championship game at Acrisure Stadium on their way to their sixth Super Bowl victory. He threw perhaps the most famous interception in the history of Acrisure Stadium — a pick-six to Troy Polamalu, who weaved through the Ravens offense for the touchdown that finally put the game on ice.

The Steelers also beat Flacco and the Ravens in a playoff game in 2010, but Flacco has been a thorn in the Steelers' side many times throughout his 18-year career. He came into Acrisure and beat the Steelers in a 2014 AFC wild-card game. More than 5,000 of his 46,731 career passing yards have come against the Steelers. He has 27 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions in those games.

Flacco is 12-13 against the Steelers, including the playoffs. It's an even 13-13 if you include the relief appearance in Indianapolis last September when he came off the bench to beat the Steelers 27-24.

"Joe can still throw the ball and knows who to throw it to," Austin said. "As long as they protect him, he's going to get the ball to the right guy."

Cincinnati's ability to protect Flacco might be the single most important factor in this game. The Bengals offensive line has been much maligned. Joe Burrow, their star quarterback, suffered a serious toe injury earlier in the season when he was sacked trying to escape pressure.

The Bengals have allowed 16 sacks in six games, but they only allowed one in Sunday's loss to the Packers. The Steelers, meanwhile, have amassed 20 sacks this season, with 17 of those coming in the past three games.

"He's been playing in this league at a high level for a long time," said rookie defensive lineman Derrick Harmon, who is responsible for two of those sacks. "We're going to try to get that ball out and we're going to try to get him down."

That's been easier said than done over the years against Flacco.

"Joe is a professional," Heyward said. "He prepares the right way. There's not a route he hasn't seen. He can throw guys open. When you're a student of the game, it doesn't matter where you go. You're going to be successful in any program you go to."

____

© 2025 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Visit www.post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.