After a heartbreaking loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 12, the Pittsburgh Steelers answered back strong with a 44-38 win against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13. The Steelers are in their second-half schedule gauntlet and have went 3-1 so far, with two wins coming versus AFC North opponents. The Steelers' offense was showing immense growth between Justin Fields and Russell Wilson at quarterback, but slow starts have been a problem for the offense and it hurt them in Week 12 against the Browns. This wasn't the case against the Bengals.
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Steelers' Russell Wilson runs against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13
Wilson had his second-best passing game in his 13 seasons in the NFL. Before Week 13 in 2024, Wilson's best passing game was in 2017 with the Seattle Seahawks where he threw for 452 yards. Against the Bengals, Wilson threw for 414 yards and three touchdowns. Leading up to the game, Wilson was confident in his offense and for a bounce back game against a Bengals defense that hasn't been the best part about Cincinnati's team this season.
Wilson credited his experience and years in the NFL for being able to tear apart the Bengals' defense. He said in his postgame press conference that he knew what the unit was doing and was able to adjust before the snap.
“What we knew is they do everything on defense. They do all the different coverages," Wilson said. "That’s the good thing about experience, you just trust what you see, you trust your eyes, you trust everything that’s going on."
There were multiple times throughout the game where Wilson would recognize a certain coverage and change the play. This has been something he's done throughout the season ever since he took over the starting quarterback position. It's also a great sight to see for Steeler Nation after having a subpar quarterback room the past few seasons.
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Steelers' Russell Wilson with his teammates after a play during Week 13 against the Bengals
Wilson credited his offense and the way they played against the Bengals. There is clearly a lot of trust between each of the guys on Pittsburgh's offense. Wilson threw to 10 different players in Week 13, and guys like Ben Skowronek and MyCole Pruitt had targets unlike previous games.
"We just had to do a really good job of just trusting what we see and thought our guys were on it. I can’t speak enough of what our guys did today," Wilson said.
This game was a big confidence booster for everyone on offense. They continued to score when the Bengals would respond back. Steelers fans aren't used to these shootout type games. Head Coach Mike Tomlin loves to make games low scoring in close, but he knew this game would be different and it was clear in their game plan.
Steelers' Wilson Limited Mistakes In Week 13
A concern for Wilson the past few weeks has been the amount of sacks he has taken and not seeing some guys open down the field. In Week 13 versus the Bengals, Wilson only took two sacks and lost only four yards total on them.
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Steelers' Russell Wilson takes a sack in Week 12 against the Cleveland Browns.
Against the Browns in Week 12, Wilson took four sacks for a loss of 22 yards. It's a tremendous difference and that can be credited to Wilson and the offensive line stepping up. Wilson also made a few smart plays when he did feel pressure from the Bengals' defense. It allowed the offense to keep moving and put up a monstrous 44 points.
Although Wilson had a pick six on him, it was arguably a questionable call on the Bengals' as George Pickens' looked like he was being pushed to the ground on that play at the beginning of the game.
Do you think Wilson will continue to play like this throughout the rest of the season? Let us know in the comments below!
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