Steelers Explode in Massive Win Over Bengals

Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense have a historic day in Cincinnati.

Dec 1, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws during the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals on the road 44-38 in a high-scoring affair. The 82 combined points are the most scored in a game this season. 44 points is the most the Steelers have scored since they scored 45 against the Carolina Panthers on Dec. 12, 2015. The win was a huge bounce-back in the thick of AFC North play and after a loss to the Cleveland Browns last week. The Steelers remain on top of the AFC North.

Quarterback Russell Wilson passed for 414 yards on 76.3% completions for three touchdowns and an interception. The mark is the second most passing yards in a game of Wilson's career. Wide receiver George Pickens caught three passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Running back Najee Harris rushed for 75 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown.

A false start penalty set the Bengals back on third down, but a 13-yard pass to star wide receiver Ja'Maar Chase almost was enough for a first down. Chase was targeted twice in the Bengals' first three plays. Their only run play was completely stuffed by the Steelers.

The Steelers' first drive was an immediate disaster. On the Steelers' first offensive snap, Wilson looked deep over the middle of the field to wide receiver Calvin Austin III, but Austin III got the wind knocked out of him before the ball was even close, drawing a personal foul. Three plays later on third-and-three, Wilson targeted Pickens on a quick slant, but Pickens was dragged to the ground by his helmet by Bengals' defensive back Cam Taylor-Britt. Taylor-Britt picked off Wilson and returned it for a touchdown. Bengals led 7-0.

Immediately back on the field, the Steelers dug themselves out of the hole with little resistance. Wilson started the drive with a seven-yard pass to tight end Pat Freiurmuth. Then, Harris got five straight touches, including three receptions for 38 yards. Harris was slow and stumbling on the fifth touch, though, and went to the ground on the sideline. Harris spent the rest of the first quarter and much of the second quarter catching his breath and receiving oxygen. On the next play, Wilson threw a screen pass to wide receiver George Pickens, who trotted 17 yards for a touchdown, tying the game 7-7.

Games involving the Bengals have averaged the most total points in the league this season. That trend looked to hold easily in the first quarter. On third-and-two, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow found wide receiver Tee Higgins, who made an impressive catch well above his head, for the first down. Then, running back Chase Brown made his mark. Brown got through the Steelers' defensive front untouched on three straight plays, including a 40-yard explosion just outside the endzone. On the next play, Brown dove in to retake the lead 14-7 with 5:01 in the first quarter.

On third-and-eight, Pickens evaded several defenders for a 21-yard gain. But after the play, Pickens dropped the ball on top of a laying down defender and was flagged for taunting setting the offense back 15 yards. Freiurmuth and tight end Darnell Washington caught passes to re-get the first down. With Harris out, running back Cordarrelle Patterson stepped up. After a first down false start, Patterson caught two intermediate passes over the middle and got two carries on four straight snaps taking the offense into the red zone. On the first play of the second quarter, Wilson found Austin III on a post-corner route for a 23-yard touchdown tying the game 14-14.

After starting the game with a traditional Steelers' three-and-out they started to look like the Bengals' defense--bad. Steelers' defensive back Joey Porter Jr. was flagged for holding Higgins, Brown and Chase were further involved in the screen game and Burrow scrambled for eight yards. A holding penalty set the Bengals back, but tight end Mike Gesicki made up the mistake with an 18-yard catch. Making matters worse, Porter Jr. was flagged for pass interference in the end zone despite an uncatchable pass coming his way, setting the Bengals at the one-yard line. After calling a timeout, Burrow found Chase in the middle of the Steelers' zone defense for the touchdown. 21-14 Bengals with 9:52 in the second quarter.

The Steelers don't typically play in shootouts, but today they had to adapt. On the first play of the answering drive, Wilson found Patterson on a crosser for a 20-yard gain. Then, Harris entered the game. Harris rumbled for eight yards but Taylor-Britt grabbed his facemask, adding another 15 yards to the run. Three carries later, Harris was in the end zone from ten yards out, tying the game 21-21.

The Steelers headed into today with one of the best run defenses in the league, but the Bengals' offensive line and Brown were proving they might be better. Brown was averaging 8.3 yards per carry. Then, just outside the red zone, Burrow scrambled to extend the play, but Steelers' linebacker T.J. Watt strip-sacked Burrow and fellow linebacker Preston Smith recovered the fumble.

Immediately after the turnover, Wilson threw a screen pass to running back Jaylen Warren. Warren evaded several defenders and broke several tackles for a 29-yard gain. Unfortunately, Wilson threw three straight incompletions, but Steelers placekicker Chris Boswell knocked in a 50-yard field goal to take the lead 24-21 with 3:31 in the first half.

The Steelers' defense forced Burrow to throw the ball out of bounds on third-and-one. But on fourth-and-one at their 39-yard line, the Bengals kept their offense on the field. A Steelers' defender jumped into the neutral zone but claimed a Bengal moved first. The referees agreed, but the video replay shows they may have made the incorrect call. Either way, the Bengals moved back five yards and decided to punt.

The Steelers entered their two-minute drill. With 1:56 left in the half, Wilson found Freiurmuth on two quick comeback routes and again on a scramble drill deep down the field. Then, Wilson found Austin III on a quick out route, but Austin III took a huge hit from Taylor-Britt and head coach Mike Tomlin had to call a timeout. Two underneath passes to Warren brought the Steelers into easy field goal range and Boswell kicked a 44-yarder as the half expired. The Steelers led 27-21 at the half.

The Steelers picked up right where they left off out of the half. Wilson found wide receiver MyCole Pruitt for an 18-yard gain. Then, Wilson threw his patented moon ball to Pickens who hauled it in over two defenders for a 36-yard gain. But the referees are officiating Pickens tough. Pickens pointed for a first down with two fingers instead of one and was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. However, he was not ejected from the game due to the nature of the penalty. The offense got into Boswell's range anyway. But the Bengals gave the Steelers a taste of their own medicine when they blocked the 42-yard field goal attempt.

Burrow found tight end Tanner Hudson for a first down. Hudson pointed for a first down but was not flagged for taunting. Defensive tackle Cam Heyward sacked Burrow for eight yards and a false start on the Bengals left tackle put the Bengals in third-and-21. Burrow found Higgins slicing through the Steelers' zone defense for a first down. Then, Burrow found Gesicki for another 20-yard gain. On third-and-six, defensive tackle Keanu Benton and Watt broke through the Bengals' offensive line and sacked Burrow, holding the Bengals to only three points. The Steelers led 27-24.

The Steelers' ensuing drive looked easy. Harris broke off a 20-yard run and wide receiver Ben Skowronek caught a 22-yard pass. Then, Wilson made possibly his best throw as a Steeler. Off platform, Wilson jumped to his right and found Freiurmuth settled in the Bengals' zone for a 25-yard touchdown extending the Steelers' lead to 34-24 as the third quarter ended.

Down 10 in the fourth quarter, the Bengals needed to maintain their offensive production. After Hudson caught a pass for a first down, Burrow targeted Higgins wide-open on the left sideline. Heyward altered the throw and it was far above Higgins's head. Higgins tipped the pass into the air and defensive back Donte Jackson came down with the interception but was tripped up just short of midfield.

With good field position and the turnover, the Steelers' offense couldn't muster a first down. Steelers punter Corliss Waitman punted for the first time today and stuck the Bengals at their 11-yard line.

The Bengals avoided the disaster of the Steelers turning the interception into points. Things were looking up for the Bengals when Porter Jr. earned another defensive pass interference call on second-and-five. But then the hole got deeper. On third-and-eight, second-year linebacker Nick Herbig bent the edge and hit the ball out of Burrow's cocked arm forcing a fumble. Steelers rookie linebacker Payton Wilson scooped the loose ball and jogged into the endzone extending the Steelers' lead 41-24 with 11:06 to play.

Trailing 17 points, Burrow had to be perfect. Brown caught a screen pass for 20 yards and Iosivas caught a 17-yard pass over the middle. The Steelers' defense accomplished the rare of feat of earning three flags on one play. Two of those flags were on Porter Jr. including defensive holding in the flat and pass interference in the end zone, giving the Bengals the ball at the one yard line. Burrow found Higgins in the back of the end zone two plays later cutting the deficit to 41-31 with 8:39 to play.

The Steelers kept the ball on the ground to try and bleed the clock. But on third-and-nine, another scoring drive for the Steelers didn't look guaranteed. The Bengals loaded the line of scrimmage and only three defenders in coverage. Wilson spent the whole play clock and then found wide receiver Van Jefferson one-on-one for a 43-yard completion. A holding penalty on Taylor-Britt got the Steelers just outside the end zone. The Bengals had to burn all three timeouts during their successful goalline stand. Boswell knocked in a 30-yard field goal extending their lead 44-31.

The Steelers possibly got too conservative on their defensive stand. Chase was wide open over the middle of the field and broke free for a 50-yard completion but was tripped up at Pittsburgh's three-yard line. Porter Jr. got away with some contact on Chase and got both hands on Burrow's pass, but couldn't make the interception. On the next play, Porter Jr. was flagged for illegal use of hands to the face on Chase, but it didn't matter as Iosivas caught the three-yard touchdown pass. The Steelers led 44-38 with 2:39. The game wasn't over yet. The Bengals declared they would attempt an onside kick.

Steelers' special teams coordinator Danny Smith called a timeout to ensure his hands team wouldn't make a mistake. They didn't. Connor Heyward recovered the onside kick. The Steelers' offense just needed one first down to end the game. The two-minute warning and a holding penalty on Pruitt stopped the clock. Rather than 30-40 seconds the Bengals would have over a minute if the Steelers couldn't convert.

Just like it was drawn up, backup quarterback Justin Fields entered the game. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith called a read-option, Fields kept it himself and ran for the first down. Last time this happened Fields slid short of a first down, but this time, Fields easily crossed the sticks.

The Steelers won a game in a way they haven't won in almost a decade. Many fans likely expected the Bengals to thrive and prevail in a shootout. But the Steelers did instead. The Pittsburgh Steelers move to 9-3 and guarantee another winning season.

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