The Pittsburgh Steelers put a halt to their three-game loss streak with a 34-11 blowout victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. It was a complete team victory with the offense having its most points of the season and the defense holding the Bengals to 11, just one more point than they allowed the last time the two teams met. The Steelers’ playoff chances are kept alive by this win, but the road is still narrow with two games remaining and a logjam in the AFC Wildcard field.
NFL Network’s Rich Eisen posted a video on The Rich Eisen Show’s YouTube channel late on Saturday night and discussed how this was the Steelers’ “best game of the year.”
“Maybe, just maybe this year the Steelers do go on a little bit of a run and do make the playoffs,” Eisen said. “If they play defense like that, even how banged up they are on the back end, if Myles Jack can come off the practice squad and play like that, and the offense can put up points like that. This is a dangerous team to make the playoffs.”
On offense, QB Mason Rudolph started his first game since 2021 and had one of the best statistical games of his career. He played mistake free football and created splash with a strong connection to WR George Pickens throughout the game. Rudolph finished the day with 17 completions on 27 attempts for 290 yards and two touchdowns. He did not turn the ball over, was only sacked once, and had a passer rating of 124.0. Pickens had the best day of his career with four catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns. It wasn’t a high volume passing attack, but that is mostly the result of the Steelers taking a 24-0 lead by halftime and leaning on the run game to help close out the game.
The defense impressed as well, especially considering what they had to work with as far as personnel goes. The inside linebacker group has been thin ever since injuries in back-to-back weeks to Kwon Alexander and Cole Holcomb, and they suffered further attrition in this game with the injury to Elandon Roberts. The safety group is also a mess with injuries to Keanu Neal, Trenton Thompson, and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Damontae Kazee is also unavailable for the rest of the season due to a suspension from his hit to WR Michael Pittman in Week 15’s game. The Steelers relied on CB Patrick Peterson and S Eric Rowe.
Peterson has played his entire career at corner with just one other start at safety. Rowe has been on the practice squad for a month and hasn’t played in a game since 2022. Both players walked out of the game with an interception. With the attrition at inside linebacker, Myles Jack stepped in and played well. He finished the game with six total tackles, a sack, and two quarterback hits. Jack and Rowe are both veterans and it showed in this game. If they can provide serviceable play at two very thin positions, then the Steelers’ defense can round back into form after a tough month.
Of course, there were many qualifiers in Eisen’s sentence “…if they play defense like that,” or “if the offense can put up points like that,” and the other big if is whether or not they make the playoffs. One game can just be happenstance, and there are still a lot of questions moving forward—like who will be the starting quarterback next week. Had the Steelers won with a low-scoring, unconvincing win, this would be a hard sell. It is the way that the Steelers won—in blowout fashion—that provides some optimism.
“I know you Steelers fans don’t want to hear it,” Eisen continued. “But that was a hell of a W today.”
