According to Steelers HC Mike Tomlin, QB Russell Wilson “put himself squarely in the history” of the Steelers-Bengals rivalry Sunday. It turns out, he’s not wrong. Even with a highly questionable pick-six to start the game, he had one of the best outings in the history of the rivalry.
Not only did Russell Wilson become the first Steelers quarterback to throw for 400-plus yards against the Bengals, he now owns the most passing yards in a game in the history of the rivalry. With 414 passing yards, Wilson passes the Bengals’ Jon Kitna (411) and Boomer Esiason (409). Despite his 34 games, Ben Roethlisberger never reached 400 yards against the Bengals.
Wilson is also the first quarterback in Steelers-Bengals games to throw for 400 yards with at least three touchdowns. Kitna threw two touchdowns, while Esiason, in fact, threw zero (and three interceptions). Kitna led the Bengals to an overtime victory while Esiason lost, 30-16.
Only four quarterbacks in Steelers-Bengals games had thrown for 350-plus yards with at least three touchdowns before Russell Wilson on Sunday. Roethlisberger did it twice, Joe Burrow once. Also managing the feat were former Steelers QBs Neil O’Donnell and Mark Malone.
And it doesn’t hurt that Russell Wilson led the Steelers to the third-most points in the history of the rivalry. At 44 points, the Steelers have only topped that twice against the Bengals previously, and the Bengals have never reached that mark against the Steelers. Pittsburgh scored 49 points in 1995, 48 points in 2000. The best Roethlisberger could manage was a piffling 42 points in a 2014 game.
Of course, the Steelers benefited from a defensive touchdown in this game, making up for the pick-six the Bengals stole early on. In the fourth quarter, Nick Herbig sacked Burrow, knocking the ball loose. Rookie ILB Payton Wilson scooped and scored, helping Russell Wilson secure his first win in the rivalry.
This is not the first time Russell Wilson has made Steelers history. In his first start of the season, he recorded the most passing yards in a player’s first game with the team.
In six starts with the Steelers, following his win over the Bengals, the team is now 5-1. He is 123-of-187 passing for 1,626 yards with 10 touchdowns to 3 interceptions. His 104.3 passing rating is the fourth-best mark in the AFC and fifth-best in the NFL.
And two of the three above him in rating in the AFC are the two division rivals he has beaten. Lamar Jackson still leads the NFL with a 116.3 rating. Despite the Bengals being 4-8 after Wilson and the Steelers beat them, Joe Burrow has a 107.4 rating.
But these numbers are not out of line for Russell Wilson, whose career passer rating is north of 100. His last 100-plus mark for a season was in 2021, however. He came close last year with a 98 passer rating. One hopes there’s more of this Wilson to come, including in the Steelers’ next game against the Bengals.
