Vintage duel: Joe Flacco vs. Aaron Rodgers is a historic battle of QBs 40 and older

CINCINNATI -- As a young NFL quarterback, Joe Flacco had a number in mind that signaled what a long and successful career in the league might look like.

But the more games and seasons he banked, he realized he might have set the bar a touch too low.

The number was 15, which he reached three years ago.

The man who entered the league as a clean-shaven prospect out of the University of Delaware now sports a strong patch of gray in the stubble around his chin. Flacco is 40. And on Thursday, he'll be the younger of the two starting quarterbacks.

Aaron Rodgers is 41. And when the two square off in an AFC North contest between Flacco's Cincinnati Bengals and Rodgers' Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video), it'll be somewhat historic. They will be just the second quarterback pairing in the Super Bowl era to start against each other as 40-year-olds, something Drew Brees and Tom Brady did three times during the 2020 season.

"The biggest thing that I've learned in terms of wanting to play a long time in your career is that you've made a decision that football's important to you," Flacco said this week. "Somewhere inside of you, you've told yourself that you want to play a long time."

Ten days ago, Thursday's matchup between these two seemed improbable.

Flacco started four games this season for the Cleveland Browns before he was benched in favor of rookie Dillon Gabriel heading into a Week 5 game against the Minnesota Vikings. Cincinnati, with a need at quarterback after Jake Browning struggled to fill in for the injured Joe Burrow, made the rare move of trading within the AFC North to make Flacco a starter again. After a slow start, Flacco threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns in a loss against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Rodgers' situation is not much different. After spending his first 18 seasons with Green Bay, he played the 2023-24 seasons with the New York Jets. He tore his right Achilles in the 2023 opener and had a relatively nondescript second season. The Jets released Rodgers in the offseason before he joined the Steelers. His first game with his new club was a 34-32 victory over the Jets.

"There were probably people in the organization that didn't think I could play anymore," Rodgers told reporters after the game. "So, it was nice to remind those people that I still can."

Flacco and Rodgers have notable things in common. Like Brees and Brady, both were Super Bowl MVPs. Each player also has a strong throwing arm, an asset that Bengals coach Zac Taylor believes helped play a role in their long careers.

"I know [Flacco] still got a lot of power in there and a lot of juice and understanding where to throw it and the timing," Taylor said. "He definitely is classified as above-average arm strength.

"Same with Aaron. Those guys have a chance to continue to play."

Since the turn of the century, there have been 10 quarterbacks who have played in at least five or more games as a 40-year-old, according to ESPN Research.

Matt Hasselbeck is one of them. In 2015, Hasselbeck started eight games for the Indianapolis Colts in place of the injured Andrew Luck. In June, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce asked Hasselbeck about playing in the twilight of one's career.

Hasselbeck's response: Sleep better and recover better. To extend his career, Hasselbeck wore compression socks after practices and made sure to eat and recover properly after a hard workout.

Flacco's typical recovery routine includes massages from team trainers. Preventing small aches from turning into painful ones has been crucial.

Speaking to reporters in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Rodgers said he has significantly tweaked his offseason training as he has gotten older and also embraced external work, too. When the team was off two weeks ago, Rodgers saw his body work specialist, who he plans on seeing a few more times this season. That has put him on a positive trajectory during a strong start with the Steelers.

"I think I'm kind of going like this body-wise," Rodgers said, flattening his hand and angling it upward. "I'm just getting healthier."

Flacco said while recovery is important, lifting heavy as many times during the week is great at working out any stiffness and soreness. It's a tenet that helps with the grind of a 17-game NFL season, no matter the age.

"You can't forget what got you there," Hasselbeck told ESPN. "Some guys lift really hard -- they power clean, they squat, they deadlift to get themselves there, and then they get paid.

"[Then] they go, 'Oh, the strength coach isn't making me do that.' They get a little soft and they do yoga."

Because ultimately successfully being an older quarterback isn't about having the strongest arm, Hasselbeck said. It's about taking a beating and being able to protect yourself and adjust one's playing style as they get older. It's why Rodgers has helped the Steelers (4-1) off to a strong start and why Flacco could help the Bengals (2-4) stay afloat until Burrow returns from his turf toe injury. That timeline hasn't been determined.

When it comes to how long he'll keep playing, Flacco isn't setting yearly benchmarks anymore. It's not about hitting 20 years in the league. It's a matter of taking it a year at a time and seeing how things shake out.

In his first news conference with the Bengals, Flacco said the reason he's still playing is because of how hard he's worked to be in the NFL, something he doesn't take for granted.

"I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror when I'm 50 years old and be able to say that I gave it everything that I had," Flacco said.