Mike Tomlin Was Scared of Joe Flacco and Still Got Punked

Mike Tomlin might drive to Cleveland and egg Andrew Berry's house.

Earlier this week, Mike Tomlin ranted to the Pittsburgh media about the Cleveland Browns trading their Week 1 starting quarterback, Joe Flacco, to the division rival Cincinnati Bengals.

“To be honest, it was shocking to me,” Tomlin said Monday. “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.”

Flacco led a game-winning drive to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers, 33–31, on Thursday Night Football.

While Tomlin’s remarks initially might have come across as a direct cheap shot at the Browns, it also proved that Tomlin understood just how lethal Flacco could be. He’s a seasoned veteran quarterback who knows this division — and Tomlin’s defense — well from his time with the Baltimore Ravens.

Flacco proved that he still has gas left in the tank and could fight and claw to keep the Bengals in the playoff hunt until Joe Burrow is healthy enough to play.

The stakes were not as high for Flacco as they were for Tomlin, and he still won.

Pittsburgh was coming off its most impressive win of the season when Tomlin called out Berry, whose Browns he had just defeated 23–9. But the Browns are undeniably one of the worst teams in the NFL, and the Steelers looked primed to run away with the AFC North.

But the truth of the matter is — the Steelers look completely overrated.

They decided to remain “all in” this offseason when they out-waited everybody for Aaron Rodgers, who was phenomenal in the loss.

Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey was in a hell chamber all night. Ja’Marr Chase proved he’s the best player in the league, even if his quarterback only showed up in town 10 days ago. He had 16 receptions for 161 yards and a touchdown.

Pittsburgh’s defense has some major questions — and Tomlin likely won’t be excited to answer them.

Tomlin was really hoping that he would get another cakewalk victory in primetime against hapless Bengals quarterback Jake Browning. But Flacco proved that Chase and Tee Higgins are incredible, and the 40-year-old is good enough to win games against good teams in the AFC North.

Tomlin told the world how good he believed Flacco was when he called out Berry. Even with that public respect, Flacco still came out on top.