Ahead of their Week 7 showdown on Thursday night with the rival Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin had some choice words for the brass of another division opponent.
Tomlin called out Browns general manager Andrew Berry on Monday while criticizing Cleveland's trade last week of Joe Flacco to Cincinnati.
"To be honest, it was shocking to me," Tomlin told reporters, "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."
Tomlin, however, couldn't fault the Bengals for engaging in an intra-divisional QB trade, adding, "It certainly made sense from Cincinnati's perspective."
Last Tuesday, Cleveland sent Flacco, who had started four games for the Browns, and a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Bengals for a '26 fifth-round selection. The rare midseason acquisition for Cincy came after Jake Browning had lost three straight games under center relieving the injured Joe Burrow. The Bengals had scoured rosters for potential veteran options to replace Browning and eventually landed on an AFC North opponent as their best trade partner.
“I don’t have a comment on that," Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Monday when asked about Tomlin's thoughts on the trade, via ESPN.com.
The Browns, now 1-5 after Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh, moved forward with rookie Dillon Gabriel as their QB while Cincinnati started Flacco immediately to encouraging results.
The Bengals lost to the Packers in the veteran QB's debut but kept Sunday's game close, cutting Green Bay's lead to six with four minutes left in the game before falling, 27-18. Flacco committed no turnovers, which had been Browning's issue through three games, and after a slow start, led five straight Cincy drives to close the game that didn't end in a punt or turnover. The 40-year-old QB finished 29-of-45 passing for 219 yards and two touchdown tosses.
Flacco has made the Bengals (2-4) better and, in an injury-riddled division, more competitive. Tomlin and the North-leading Steelers (4-1) can't and don't like it.
"It's reasonable to expect him to be significantly better in [his second game with Cincinnati]," Tomlin said of Flacco. "He's been in the stadium with them. They've been in the stadium with him. They understand his demeanor, how he deals with circumstances.
"Certainly, we've got a full week's work ahead of us in terms of minimizing a veteran, savvy talented thrower like him. ... That certainly has our attention."
Pittsburgh travels to Cincinnati to take on Flacco and the Bengals on Thursday at 8:15 p.m. ET, the Steelers' second AFC North matchup in as many weeks.