CINCINNATI — It was dubbed the Icy Hot Bowl by Cameron Heyward, who as a result earned an endorsement deal.

But in this matchup of 40-something quarterbacks, Joe Flacco’s arm stayed as hot as his demeanor remained cool. The only entity that needed an over-the-counter pain relief product after Thursday’s game was the collective ego of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense.

“It was an absolutely unacceptable performance from us on the defensive side of the ball,” outside linebacker T.J. Watt said.

Making his second start on his seventh team and only eight days after joining the Cincinnati Bengals, the 40-year-old Flacco outdueled 41-year-old Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Flacco completed 31 of 47 passes for 342 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 33-31 victory.

“Lotta respect,” Heyward, the Steelers’ defensive captain, said of Flacco. “Joe’s been in this league (18 seasons). Joe does a great job of taking what a defense gives him. He knows how to get the ball out of his hands. He’s seen every coverage; you’re not gonna fool him.”

The Steelers know that more than anyone. No opposing quarterback in franchise history has walked off the field finishing a game he played in as a winner more often. Flacco has 11 wins as a starter against the Steelers in the regular season — only former Bengals star Ken Anderson has that many — in addition to a postseason victory and an additional regular-season game in which he entered during the first quarter and guided the Indianapolis Colts to victory last season.

“We saw it last year in Indy,” Watt said of Flacco’s heroics. “I think it’s something that we knew he was capable of. Obviously, when you play that long, you’re able to get through your reads quick, and you need to be able to stop them.”

Flacco’s first win against the Steelers came in 2009 while with the Baltimore Ravens. He also has played parts of two seasons for the Cleveland Browns, leaving the Steelers the only AFC North team Flacco hasn’t played for.

The Browns traded Flacco to the Bengals last week, and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin publicly during his news conference let Cleveland general manager Andrew Berry know what he thought about that.

Tomlin was probably perturbed he had to face Flacco again — and on Thursday, Flacco showed why.

“That,” Flacco said after the game, “was a lot of fun.

“Listen, I love doing this. I have been doing it for such a long time. When you’re out there with the guys, and you’re doing what you want to do and you’re having success and you can look in each other’s eyes, you get that feeling of bonding with (teammates). It’s a lot of fun — and it’s a lot more fun when that clock hits zero and you’ve gotten the job done.”

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