Steelers can't slow Flacco, Bengals' rushing attack

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers had a chance to create some separation in the AFC North against the Bengals on Thursday night. But defensive issues that have plagued them at timescropped up again. The Bengals and 40-year-old Joe Flacco took advantage.

Making his second start just nine days after joining the team, Flacco passed for 342 yards and three TDs and led an eight-play, 52-yard drive to set up Evan McPherson's 36-yard field goal with seven seconds left to claim a 33-31 victory.

Under little pressure and using a quick release, Flacco got the ball to his stars. Ja'Marr Chase had 16 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown. Tee Higgins had six catches for 96 yards and a TD.

“Obviously, Joe played really well for them," said Aaron Rodgers who had four touchdown passes but also a pair of interceptions. "(Ja'Marr) Chase and Tee (Higgins) got going for them. This is the NFL. This was a short week. Division opponent. Anything can happen.”

Cincinnati which had the league's worst rushing offense, ran for a season-high 142 yards led by Chase Brown who had 11 carries for 108 yards. The Bengals averaged 6.2 yards per rush.

It was Brown's second-career 100-yard rushing game. The other came in Week 9 last season when he ran for 120 yards against the Raiders.

“Just not playing gap-zone football," TJ Watt said. "Felt like the run scheme we had in this game was going to be effective. It’s going to come down to, when we look at the film, not being in the gaps.”

Cincinnati amassed 470 yards.

Against a suspect Bengals offensive line that had two new starters at guard in Dalton Risner and Jalen Rivers, Steelers managed to sack Flacco only twice.

On Sunday, the Steelers sacked Browns QB Dillon Gabriel six times with 16 quarterback hits. Flacco's quick release and a resurgent running game made things more difficult for Pittsburgh on Thursday.

“They got rid of the ball quick and they were running the ball effectively so it minimized some of those one-dimensional pass circumstances,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.

On Monday, Tomlin criticized Browns general manager Andrew Berry for trading Flacco to the AFC-North rival Bengals. Flacco confirmed Tomlin’s fears on Thursday.

The road doesn't get any easier for the Steelers who have home games against the Packers and Colts before heading to LA to play the Rams.

“I'm not going to ride the rollercoaster, and I know Mike (Tomlin)'s not neither,” Rodgers said. “We’re 4-2. Still first in the division. Got a couple home games coming up. Another Sunday night opportunity against my former team.”

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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco, right, celebrates with head coach Zac Taylor after an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cincinnati Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) walks off the field following an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) talks with reporters following an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt talks with reporters following an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco throws a touchdown pass to wide receiver Tee Higgins for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cincinnati Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Galileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)