“Thursday Night Football” seemingly always finds a way to get wild, and we certainly had a wild first half between the Steelers and the Bengals to open Week 7. Joe Flacco has touchdown passes to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, and Cincinnati has rallied from an early 10-0 hole to take a 17-10 lead into halftime.
The Steelers took the opening drive and went 69 yards in eight efficient plays, with Aaron Rodgers capping the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith, who is on his way to a big night. Trey Hendrickson’s absence loomed large on this one, as Rodgers had 8.6 seconds between when the snap occurred and when he released the pass.
The Steelers made it 10-0 early in the second quarter, and it looked like the Bengals were in for yet another long night early.
Instead, they flipped the script. Chase Brown ripped off a 27-yard run to open the next drive, Flacco converted a third-and-10 to Chase and capped the drive with an 8-yarder to the superstar wide receiver.
On the Steelers’ first play of the ensuing drive, Rodgers tossed up an ill-advised deep ball to DK Metcalf, and Jordan Battle intercepted it.
Brown again opened the drive with a huge run — this one even bigger at 37 yards — and three plays later, Flacco found Higgins for a 29-yard catch and run. In a matter of just one minute and 46 seconds, Cincinnati turned a 10-0 hole into a 14-10 lead.
The Bengals somehow weren’t done: DJ Turner II made one of the best defensive plays of the year, ripping the ball away from Metcalf (with help from a big Geno Stone hit) for Rodgers’ second interception of the night.
Flacco led another impressive drive, and Evan McPherson knocked through a 49-yard field goal as time expired in the half.