By HUNTER O. LYLE
A little after a week following a deflating loss and the Pittsburgh Steelers have bounced back, returning to their AFC North-leading form as they won a gun-slinging showdown against the Bengals.
The Snowdown Showdown two Thursdays ago was tough to watch. For the first time all season, the defense seemed to take a night off and the offensive struggles seemed to be at their worst. While the Steelers finally got rolling late, it wasn’t enough and produced the team’s third loss to the Browns.
While Cleveland’s record – 2-6 before the Steelers matchup – may not accurately represent the toughness of the schedule, a loss to the worst team in the division definitely begged some questions. The few cracks in the Yinzers’ armor were brought into the spotlight. With all the confidence bubbling around the Steelers, the Browns were supposed to be an easy win, or at least one that should have gone their way. The same could be said of the Bengals. However, this time, Pittsburgh rose to the occasion.
As I have admitted, I entered the season skeptical Russell Wilson, but looking over the portfolio of work over the last few weeks, I have grown more and more of a supporter and fan. Sunday sealed the deal.
Coming into the Bengals game, Pittsburgh’s offense leaned slightly towards the run game. Through 11 games, the Steelers carried the ball 377 times while targeting receivers 297 times. On average, they tended to hand the ball off to Najee Harris or Jaylen Warren rather than trying to find George Pickens and Co. Against Cincinnati, the Steelers switched the script, putting their faith in Wilson’s arm. What better time for a shootout than against Joe Burrow.
Wilson delivered. Despite throwing a worrisome pick-six on Pittsburgh’s fourth snap of the game, from there on out he dominated. Finding yards in bunches as he averaged almost 11 per catch, Wilson’s impressive work produced his second highest single-game passing yards of his career at 414 – his highest came in 2017 when he passed for 452 yards against the Houston Texans. Alongside a 76 percent completion rate, he spread the wealth across an array of receivers, with four tallying 50-plus receiving yards.
One of the men in Wilson’s crosshairs on Sunday was a familiar face downfield. Harris, who as mentioned leads the Steelers’ run game, tied with Pat Freiermuth for the most targets with six for 54 yards. His new role in the Bengals’ secondary didn’t get in the way of his normal responsibilities, as Harris still led the team in rushing yards with 75. Even Warren got a handful of tosses, finishing with 55 yards on four receptions.
The duality of Pittsburghs’ weapons show how dynamic the team can be when firing on all cylinders. Whether it be Harris and Warren acting as dual-threat, multi-tool options or Wilson and Justin Fields tagging in and out for long bombs or short scrambles, the volatile unpredictability could be Pittsburgh’s best advantage.
As far as the defense goes, they showed promise despite allowing Burrow to tag on his third 300-plus yard game in a row. In reflection, that says more about the Bengals’ man under center than the Steelers defense. He may be one of those athletes that you cannot stop. Only slow down.
There are a few of those guys coming down the pipes in the coming weeks. After a rematch at home against the Browns, the rest of the Steelers’ matchups come with elite-level quarterbacks – no disrespect to Jameis Winston. In Week 15, Pittsburgh travels to the City of Brotherly Love to face Jalen Hurts and MVP-candidate Saquon Barkley before another round against Lamar Jackson, who is second in both passing yards touchdowns thrown. Then comes the toughest challenge of the season: Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas.
I don’t know about you, but all I want for Christmas is a win.
