Needing a win to keep any playoff hopes alive, the Pittsburgh Steelers played their best game of the season, scoring 34 points to defeat the Cincinnati Bengals, 34-11, at Acrisure Stadium.
Pittsburgh won the toss and deferred, so the Bengals started with the ball. Cincinnati picked up a first down on 3rd and 1 when QB Jake Browning hit rookie WR Andrei Iosivas for a gain of seven to the Cincinnati 41. Pittsburgh would get the stop though as the completion to Iosivas was the only first down Cincinnati would get on the drive. The Steelers took over at their own 8 following a fair catch by Calvin Austin III.
The Steelers got off to an explosive start as on their second play as Rudolph hit WR George Pickens on a slant for an 86-yard touchdown. Boswell’s extra point put Pittsburgh up 7-0 with 10:45 left in the first quarter.
On 3rd and 3 from the Cincinnati 32 on the Bengals’ second drive, Browning found WR Tee Higgins for a 23-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 45. Two plays later, Iosivas caught a pass for 12 yards and a first down. A bubble screen to WR Tyler Boyd went for a first down to the Pittsburgh 17, and the Bengals were threatening. But on 3rd and 9 from the Pittsburgh 16, Browning threw a duck under pressure and it was intercepted by Patrick Peterson, who got the start at safety. The Steelers would take over at their own 20.
Pittsburgh was in business after an 18-yard catch-and-run by RB Jaylen Warren on 3rd and 5, and a four-yard run by Warren on first down moved Pittsburgh to the Cincinnati 33. A 14-yard gain by WR Allen Robinson II moved Pittsburgh into the red zone at the Cincinnati 19, and then RB Najee Harris ran for a 13-yard gain down to the Cincinnati 6. Two plays later, a jet sweep to WR Calvin Austin III went for a touchdown, and Pittsburgh took a 14-0 lead with 14:21 left in the half.
Cincinnati went three-and-out on its first drive of the second quarter with OLB T.J. Watt sacking Browning on third down. Pittsburgh got the ball back at its own 48, and two Harris runs quickly gave the Steelers a first down. But the Steelers failed to get points as they wouldn’t gain any more yards on the drive and were forced to punt. P Pressley Harvin III’s punt was downed at the Cincinnati 7.
Browning went back to Iosivas for a gain of six on first down, but three plays later Browning was intercepted by S Eric Rowe in his Steelers debut. Rowe returned the interception to the Cincinnati 14, and the Pittsburgh offense punched it in four plays later. A 3rd-and-6 scramble by Mason Rudolph for a first down set up a 3-yard Harris touchdown run, and the Steelers took a commanding 21-0 lead with 7:06 left in the first half.
On 2nd and 6, Browning turned to Boyd, who picked up a 29-yard gain on a catch and run. Boyd then caught a first-down pass for a gain of 14 at the Pittsburgh 28. TE Drew Sample then gained another 14, and the Bengals were quickly in the red zone at the Pittsburgh 14. Cincinnati faced a 4th and inches from the Pittsburgh 5, and Browning’s pass to WR Tee Higgins in the end zone was incomplete and Pittsburgh took over on downs.
The Steelers picked up a first down on a completion to WR Diontae Johnson but later faced a 3rd and 15 because of a questionable holding call against OT Dan Moore Jr. On 3rd and 15, Rudolph took a shot downfield to Pickens for a 44-yard gain to the Cincinnati 35. The Steelers ended the half with a 50-yard field goal by Boswell to take a 24-0 lead into the locker room.
The Steelers got the ball to open the second half, but they wouldn’t do much with it, punting it away from their own 45. Harvin’s punt traveled just 35 yards to the Cincinnati 20, where the Bengals began their first drive of the second half.
On the first play of the drive, Higgins caught a slant 80 yards for a touchdown. The Bengals cut the Pittsburgh lead to 24-8 after converting on the two-point conversion with 11:11 left in the third quarter.
Pittsburgh opened its ensuing drive with an eight-yard completion to TE Darnell Washington, and two plays later, Rudolph went deep to Pickens again, and he came through with a 66-yard touchdown. Pittsburgh took a 31-8 lead after Boswell’s extra point on Pickens’ second deep touchdown of the night.
The Bengals’ next drive involved two near-interceptions, and they went for it on 4th and 5 from the Pittsburgh 32 and failed as the Steelers took over holding onto their 31-8 lead. The Steelers would go three-and-out, though, and Harvin’s punt was just 38 yards to the Cincinnati 32.
RB Joe Mixon ran for 13 yards on first down, and the Bengals got it to the Pittsburgh 34 a few plays later. On 3rd and 4, CB Joey Porter Jr. was flagged for defensive holding, giving Cincinnati got a new set of downs. On 3rd and 8, Browning went to Higgins, who converted the first down with a 15-yard completion along the sideline. Two plays later on 2nd and 8, Browning was sacked by OLB Alex Highsmith, which made it 3rd and 15. The third-down pass was ruled incomplete after a successful Steelers challenge, and the Bengals would settle for a 35-yard Evan McPherson field goal to cut the Steelers lead to 31-11 at the end of the third quarter.
The Steelers went three-and-out after Rudolph missed a wide-open Diontae Johnson on third down, and then Harvin’s punt was only 39 yards. Cincinnati would take over at its own 35. On first down, OT Jonah Williams was flagged for holding against T.J. Watt and then Williams was again flagged for a false start. It would be 1st and 25 for the Bengals. On 2nd and 19, Browning was intercepted for a third time, this time by Highsmith. The Steelers took over at the Cincinnati 43.
Pittsburgh wouldn’t find the end zone but still got points on a 30-yard field goal by Boswell. That made it a 34-11 Steelers lead with 6:57 left in the game. On Cincinnati’s next drive, WR Trenton Irwin gained 22 yards on 3rd and 5, and then an eight-yard run by RB Mixon brought the Bengals to the Pittsburgh 40. Cincinnati wouldn’t do anything else after a false start killed its drive, and then a perfect punt by Brad Robbins downed Pittsburgh at their own 4. The Steelers avoided a disaster after Jaylen Warren slipped before receiving a handoff, but Rudolph recovered and got it out of the end zone.
The Steelers would punt with 1:14 left in the game, and the Bengals took over with 1:02 to play at the Pittsburgh 48 but they wouldn’t do anything with the ball.
The Steelers’ 34-11 win moved them to 8-7 on the season and kept their playoff hopes stayed alive. Cincinnati dropped to 8-7 after suffering a season sweep at the hands of Pittsburgh.
