A few thoughts about Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin saying the other day that he’s upset that the Browns traded quarterback Joe Flacco to both teams’ AFC North rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals, who host the Steelers on Thursday Night Football this week:
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*Look, I can understand his distaste. The Browns made it harder — much harder, really — for the Steelers, who beat Cleveland 23-9 on Sunday, to defeat the Bengals. Instead of getting to face Jake Browning, who had really struggled since taking over the starting job after Joe Burrow was sidelined with a toe injury, they’ll have to go against the much more capable Flacco. As Tomlin duly pointed out, Flacco was the Day 1 starter for the Browns. How could Flacco’s stock have fallen so much so soon?, the coach wondered. At the same time, Flacco is no world-beater, either. He has aged into a shadow of his former self. And along with that, the Bengals are bad, while the Steelers might be the best team not just in the division, but also in the entire AFC as well. As such, then, if the Steelers have a lot of trouble with Cincinnati, then there ought to be an investigation.
*But let’s also be fair in saying that the Browns, with their personnel moves or any other pieces of business, can’t worry about how it may affect the rest of the division or other clubs throughout the NFL. They have to do what’s best for themselves.
*Tomlin called out Browns General Manager Andrew Berry, saying, Berry “must be a lot smarter than me.” Hold on there, Mr. Tomlin. Let’s be very clear in saying that on your worst day and Berry’s best day, he isn’t smarter than you by any stretch of the imagination.
Shots fired: #Steelers HC Mike Tomlin on Cleveland trading Joe Flacco to the Bengals:
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 13, 2025
“Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me or us because it doesn’t make sense to me to trade a QB you think enough of to make your opening-day starter to a division opponent that’s hurting in… pic.twitter.com/aQJKCxCUaJ
*With Tomlin calling out only Berry and not also the Browns’ other top football man, Kevin Stefanski, it seems to indicate what many others thought in that the move was Berry’s alone without any input from the head coach, who likely would have tried to stop it.
*And finally, this little back-and-forth between the Browns and Steelers hasn’t occurred much at all over the years. There’s been a lot of mutual respect between the franchises. There have been only two exceptions. In 1999, when the Browns hosted the Steelers in their first regular-season game back in the NFL after a three-year absence, Pittsburgh head coach Bill Cowher pumped up his players with the no-respect angle by fabricating a story that Browns officials said there was no time to introduce the Steelers in the pre-game because of all of the other festivities planned. Browns officials were stunned by the accusation. . . . Also, in 1981, the Steelers tried to sneak through waivers rookie quarterback Rick Trocano, a product of Brooklyn High School in Cleveland and Pitt. That type of move was many times just a formality back then as teams let each other do it, but the Browns flopped the script and claimed Trocano. Steelers head coach Chuck Noll blew a gasket, so to speak.
Steve King
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