Joe Flacco came out on top in the “Battle of the Uncs,” as the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 33–31 thriller. It was a wild one, and not necessarily in a good way for Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers’ offense. There were plenty of miscues, but nothing topped the accidental flea-flicker in the first quarter that left Aaron Rodgers fuming.

When asked afterward about the play and what exactly went wrong between him and running back Jaylen Warren, Rodgers opened up on the miscommunication. “Yeah, it wasn’t supposed to be a flea flicker. Yeah, we weren’t on the same page,” Rodgers remarked.

It all happened on a second-and-4 from the Steelers’ 44-yard line with just over six minutes left in the first quarter. Rodgers handed the ball off to Warren, who, for reasons still unclear, decided to toss it back to him. Rodgers looked absolutely caught off guard, suddenly staring down an oncoming Bengals pass rush before firing an incomplete pass in the direction of tight end Jonnu Smith. But then came something that was caught by the Prime Video broadcast.

Rodgers was expectedly absolutely livid. Cameras caught him turning to Warren, shouting what appeared to be, “What are you doing? It wasn’t a flea flicker!”

The worst part? Pittsburgh’s offense had started great. They scored on their opening drive and were cruising again before that bizarre miscue completely derailed things. What could’ve been another scoring drive ended in a punt. It started to slip away from there on.

If they finish that drive with points, we might be talking about a 5-1 Steelers team today. Instead, they walked off the field with a 4-2 record and a lot of what-ifs. Scoring 31 points usually means you’ve done enough to win in this league. But on this night, it wasn’t the Bengals who beat the Steelers but the Steelers shooting themselves in the foot.

The Steelers’ self-inflicted wounds cost them

The self-inflicted wounds piled up one after another for the Steelers tonight. Pittsburgh looked poised to take control of the division, jumping out to an early 10-0 lead. But a handful of sloppiness opened the door for Cincinnati. And Joe Flacco was more than happy to walk through it in his first game with the Bengals.

The first major swing came on a 4th-and-1 from the Bengals’ 18-yard line. Tight end Connor Heyward collected the pass and seemed to convert the tush push with ease. But right guard Mason McCormick jumped early. False start. Drive dead. The Steelers had to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown, and the Bengals immediately answered with six points of their own.

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Aaron Rodgers had his fair share of mistakes. On the very next offensive play, Rodgers spotted a single-high safety look and tried to go deep to DK Metcalf. The pass never made it; picked off by the Bengals, who turned the short field into another touchdown. Just like that, the 10-0 lead flipped into a 14-10 deficit.

Cincinnati didn’t slow down and ended up scoring 20 more points. Rodgers still finished with 249 yards and four touchdowns, not bad at all. But the two first-half interceptions, miscommunication, and a defense that couldn’t get off the field… that was the difference.

If the Steelers want to prove they’re real contenders and not just a team benefiting from a soft schedule, these are the kinds of mistakes they can’t afford. Now, they’ll have to regroup quickly before heading into next week’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers – Rodgers’ first team.