CINCINNATI — As soon as the ball left Russell Wilson’s hand, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback knew it wasn’t going to end well.
On the Steelers’ opening possession Sunday in Cincinnati, they faced an early third-and-3. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith dialed up a quick slant to the team’s top target, George Pickens. However, when the receiver released inside, he got tangled up with Bengals defensive back Cam Taylor-Britt.
What happened next depends upon your point of view.
“They kind of pulled him down, to be honest with you,” Wilson said. “We tried to throw it on time and in rhythm. We thought that we could have gotten a penalty there.”
The officials evidently saw it differently.
“We ruled the receiver stumbled right off the line, and then there was incidental contact that pulled him down,” referee Shawn Hochuli told a pool reporter after the game. “If there was a potential grab or hold, that was at an angle that we wouldn’t have seen.”
CBS officiating analyst Gene Steratore said on the broadcast that Taylor-Britt should have been flagged for illegal hands to the face.
While the Steelers argued their case, Taylor-Britt snatched the ball and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown.
CAM TAYLOR-BRITT PICK-6. BENGALS STRIKE FIRST.
📺: #PITvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/Rflym4Efdr— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024
The play could have been the beginning of a long day for the Steelers. After all, any team facing Joe Burrow and company knows it will need to score points to keep pace with one of the NFL’s most proficient passers. The controversial play put the Steelers in an early hole and only underscored the fact that Wilson would need to stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals’ high-octane offense.
Unlike the pick six, what happened next is not a matter of opinion.
The veteran bounced back from the interception with a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. That jump-started what was not only Wilson’s most productive passing performance as a Steeler but also one of the best performances of his career, as he out-dueled Burrow to lead Pittsburgh to a 44-38 victory.
“Man we needed all 44 of those points today,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin quipped. “Didn’t we?”
They needed Wilson, too.
With his veteran presence and command of the offense, he completed 29 of 38 passes for 414 yards and three touchdowns, finishing with a passer rating of 126.4. The interception on the opening drive was one of his few blemishes, as Wilson eclipsed the 400-yard passing plateau for just the third time in his career. The only time he has racked up more passing yardage was in 2017 when he tallied 452 yards in a win over the Houston Texans.
“I just turned 36 the other day,” Wilson joked. “I feel like I’m 26. Maybe I’m 30.”
Wilson set a new career high with 257 passing yards in the first half. As the game wore on, the Steelers continued to exploit a suspect Cincinnati defense to the tune of 520 total yards of offense. It was the seventh time the Steelers have recorded at least 500 yards and 40 points in a game and the first time since 2015.
The Steelers tried to get the Bengals into bigger personnel groupings, knowing they’d load up to try to stop the run, and then attacked them with the pass. Wilson often checked the ball down and exposed the Bengals’ blitzes with well-timed screens, leading to six catches for 54 yards from Najee Harris. The QB spread the ball to 10 different targets and hit three different receivers for touchdowns — Calvin Austin III, tight end Pat Freiermuth and Pickens.
Russ delivers a dime to Calvin Austin to tie the game!
📺: #PITvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/y9BbZQVK1p— NFL (@NFL) December 1, 2024
“For whatever reason, whenever we play here, I just go off,” said Freiermuth, who took advantage of the soft spots in the Bengals’ two-high shell to reel in six catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. “It’s awesome. We should play here every time.”
Even better than the yards, Pittsburgh finished drives. The Steelers failed to score on only four of 11 possessions: The interception, a blocked field goal, a second-half punt and the kneeldowns that ended the game.
After losing to the Browns on “Thursday Night Football,” the Steelers used the mini-bye to do a self-scout of their red zone woes. Tomlin said the team reaped the benefits of that deep dive, as they converted two of their four trips into touchdowns. Even that stat is better than it looks, as one of the trips ended with a field goal with the clock expiring in the first half.
But when it came time for Wilson to analyze the offensive outburst, he came back to the interception.
“I thought the big best thing we did today was respond in the midst of adversity,” Wilson said. “I thought that we did a really good job of staying confident and not letting one play phase us.”
The adversity came in many forms and on both sides of the ball.
Defensively, it was far from the Steelers’ best game. The splash was there, sure. Outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig each strip-sacked Burrow, with Herbig’s leading to a 21-yard scoop and score by rookie inside linebacker Payton Wilson. Defensive lineman Cameron Heyward continues to turn back the clock, getting his hands on a football that offseason addition Donte Jackson intercepted.
However, Pittsburgh’s defense struggled to get off the field without takeaways. Burrow completed 28 of 38 passes for 309 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The Steelers also gave away plenty of free yardage via penalties. Joey Porter Jr. alone was flagged six times, with four of those penalties accepted. Two of those flags set the Browns up with the ball on the 1-yard line for easy touchdowns.
“Tee Higgins got a lot to do that that. Tee Higgins is a goon,” Tomlin said affectionately. “He is. You can’t let him beat you up. At the same time, the officials are going to call it the way they’re going to call it.”
Offensively, the Steelers didn’t get in their own way too often. However, Pickens was flagged twice for 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. The first time, officials said that Pickens tossed the ball in a defender’s direction after a third-down catch. The second time, Pickens was flagged for what was deemed a finger-gun gesture. (Hochuli said after the game Pickens was not disqualified because the second penalty was not deemed a taunt in an opponent’s direction).
Pickens argued after the game that he was pointing for a first down and that the officials misinterpreted it. It’s also worth noting Pickens celebrated his touchdown catch by punting the ball into the stands, which could result in a possible fine.
“He’s just got to grow up man,” Tomlin said. “It’s an emotional game. These divisional games are big. He got a target on his back because he’s George. He understands that. But he’s got to grow up. He’s got to grow up in a hurry.”
While this was far from a perfect performance, the Steelers overcame the uninspiring outing by the defense, the costly penalties and the self-inflicted wounds to collect a pivotal AFC North road win and improve their record to 9-3, expanding their division lead to 1 1/2 games after the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Philadelphia Eagles late Sunday afternoon.
Now, after Burrow dissected the defense, it’s worth wondering whether the Steelers can keep a lid on Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen in a possible playoff showdown. Likewise, the offensive outburst should be kept in perspective because Cincinnati gives up yards in bunches. Still, this is yet another data point that suggests the Steelers’ offense can do its part when Watt putting on his cape isn’t enough.
“I feel like the defense always got our back,” offensive tackle Broderick Jones said. “It’s good for us to have their back one time.”
While Wilson is showing he still has the arm to sling his trademark moonball and the experience to work through his progressions quickly, there’s also an intangible element to what he brings that’s helped lift this offense to a level that hasn’t been seen in some time. It has the Steelers believing in the possibilities of what this group can do in January.
“Russ coming in with a lot of experience, he’s motivating us and he’s telling us certain things in the huddle,” Harris said. “We need that.
“(Earlier in my career), it would always be, low-scoring games and struggling a lot (offensively). But, I just think that when we really come together, when we know what we’re capable of and what we can do, we can go far.”
(Photo: Katie Stratman / Imagn Images)
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