First-year Steeler Russell Wilson looked like he was back in his Seahawks days in the Steelers’ 44-38 victory over the Bengals. Wilson just turned 36 and played one of the best games of his career in his hometown of Cincinnati. The Steelers picked up their ninth win on the season, officially keeping the streak of winning seasons alive, even when the national media said it wouldn’t happen all offseason.
Russell Wilson was able to turn back the clock in week 13. He went 29 for 38, passing for 414 yards and three touchdowns. He posted the second-most passing yards in a single game of his career. The only time he put up more passing yards was in 2017 when he was a member of the Seahawks. Wilson threw for 452 yards and four touchdowns in a win against the Texans. Wilson was 28 in that game and has now proved that he still has gas in the tank.
Everyone got in on the fun against the Bengals. Wilson spread the love as seven different Steelers had more than 20 receiving yards. George Pickens, Pat Freiermuth, and Calvin Austin all caught a touchdown. Najee Harris punched one in and Payton Wilson even found the endzone after picking up the Nick Herbig strip sack. The Steelers had their way with the Bengals.
Wilson posted the best game for a Steelers quarterback since Big Ben Roethlisberger was under center for the black and yellow. It came in a huge spot, a divisional matchup with season-changing implications. Wilson threw a pick-six on the Steelers’ first offensive drive that should have been called back, but the referees missed an egregious penalty by Cam Taylor-Britt.
Aside from the early pick-six, the Steelers dominated the Bengals in week 13 in their home stadium. The Pittsburgh defense got off to a slow start. For once, the offense had their back until they got back on their feet in the second half. Whatever Mike Tomlin said to them at halftime worked. The AFC North’s appearance on HBO’s Hard Knocks should give fans a peek behind the curtain at those scenarios.
The daunting Steelers defense got three takeaways, including an interception by Donte Jackson, a forced fumble by TJ Watt, and the Nick Herbig strip sack that Payton Wilson returned for a touchdown. Herbig and Cam Heyward each gathered a sack, and Watt had two. Watt had a monster game, adding a forced fumble and two tackles for loss to his two-sack performance.
Despite going down early, the Steelers got back up and remained resilient. Wilson led the offense to their best game of the season, fueled by a balanced passing attack and a great game on the ground by Najee Harris. He rushed 16 times for 74 yards and a touchdown and caught six passes for 54 yards. Pittsburgh won the time-of-possession battle and had more total yards than the Bengals. Cincinnati can’t catch any breaks, dropping to 4-8 on the season.
Former Defensive Player of the Year TJ Watt had a stellar game after a few quiet games. Nick Herbig got his one big splash play that happens every week. Donte Jackson got his fifth interception of the season, tying him with Marlon Humphrey for third in the NFL. If Pittsburgh gets that type of production from both sides of the ball, they will be a handful for teams in January. The Steelers are now top ten in the NFL in points per game. Pittsburgh has seen lackluster offenses over the past few seasons, but Wilson came to town to change that.
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