The Cincinnati Bengals have a new secret weapon: A 40-year-old father of five

Joe Burrow, a 40-year-old father of five, might be Cincinnati's secret weapon at quarterback

The Cincinnati Bengals had looked lost ever since Joe Burrow, their starting quarterback and one of the brightest stars in the entire NFL, was sidelined for months by a toe injury in early September.

Four consecutive losses had dropped the Bengals to 2-4 entering Week 7.

Yet on Thursday, they may have found their answer to a midseason surge in an unexpected place: Joe Flacco, a 40-year-old father of five wasn't even sure he would still be in the NFL this season, and who took over as the starter in Cincinnati only last week.

Ten days after losing one job as the Cleveland Browns' starting quarterback and earning another in Cincinnati via a rare intradivision trade, Flacco looked as comfortable Thursday in a 33-31 win against Pittsburgh as though he had been operating the Bengals' offense since training camp.

Pittsburgh spent $163 million in payroll on its defense in the offseason, according to Over The Cap, however Flacco and top receiver Ja'Marr Chase repeatedly found holes on routes requiring precision timing. Flacco completed 31 of his 47 passes for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Chase caught a career-high 16 of those passes for 161 yards and a touchdown.