Mike Tomlin’s Joe Flacco outburst proves Bengals got trade right

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Oct 14, 2025 - 02:00
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Mike Tomlin’s Joe Flacco outburst proves Bengals got trade right

If Joe Flacco’s second-half outburst in his Cincinnati Bengals debut on short notice wasn’t proof enough that the team got it right in making the trade, more proof went public the day after. 

Just look at comments by Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. 

Asked about the Cleveland Browns trading Flacco in the AFC North to the Bengals, Tomlin aimed right at the Cleveland front office. 

"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," Tomlin said. "But that’s just my personal feelings."

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Hard to fault Tomlin, either, as in-division trades are rare, and why the Browns were willing to give up Flacco at all is worth questioning. The Bengals called around and landed on Flacco for many reasons. The fact he’s a veteran with experience quickly learning new offenses was one. 

Now, Tomlin is in the direct line of fire from that Browns decision, too. The Bengals and Flacco play the Steelers on Thursday night on a short week and Flacco just threw for 219 yards and two scores after one half of getting comfortable. 

Of course, some of this is Tomlin defending a fellow head coach. Notice he attacked the Cleveland front office, not Kevin Stefanski, a guy he coached with in Minnesota. 

Regardless, the Bengals taking advantage of the Browns in the trade is getting attention in notable ways, which keeps proving the Bengals made the right choice, too.

ESPN’s Brooke Pryor provided the footage: 

RELATED: Bengals’ QB trade search included some shocking names

This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Mike Tomlin’s Joe Flacco outburst proves Bengals got trade right

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