As we do every week to get you ready for our upcoming game, our X-factor of the week. Sometimes, it’s a player, unit, concept, or scheme. Here’s our Pittsburgh Steelers X-factor of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
STEELERS VS BENGALS X-FACTOR: RUSSELL WILSON
The Pittsburgh Steelers close out their 2024 regular season on Saturday, and it’s a game which the team badly needs a good performance. Pittsburgh’s lost their last three, and a four-game losing streak heading into the playoffs would certainly not be ideal.
Luckily, the Bengals are a team the Steelers have had their fair share of success against. The Steelers got the best of the Bengals earlier this year, winning 44-38 in Cincinnati. That game featured an offensive explosion, led by QB Russell Wilson, who had the offense humming. The game didn’t even feel as close as the final score would suggest, with the Bengals making it a one-possession game in the final minutes.
At the time, the two teams were on far different trajectories than they are now. Pittsburgh was soaring under Wilson and owned a 9-3 record at the time. The Steelers have only won once since then while the Bengals are on a heater of their own. Cincinnati’s on a four-game win streak, and their playoff lives depend on tonight’s performance.
Cincinnati didn’t have an answer for Wilson in their first matchup, and to be fair, they haven’t been able to stop most of the quarterbacks they’ve faced throughout the year. Wilson had one of the better performances of his career, picking up 414 yards through the air, completing 29-of-38 passes and three touchdowns.
The only blemish on Wilson’s stat-sheet was a pick-six early in the game, but even that was controversial. It was an all-around excellent performance, and it’s a level Pittsburgh needs Wilson to return to. Cincinnati’s defense will certainly be less of a threat than the last three teams the Steelers have faced. The Bengals have given up 417 points on the year, the fourth-most in the NFL.
This has all the signs of a get-right game for Wilson. Whether the Steelers win or not, a strong performance from Wilson would really do some good going into the playoffs. Pittsburgh brought Wilson in to help them reach the next level and contend for a Super Bowl. That hasn’t seemed destined to happen for a few weeks now, but a good performance for Wilson on Saturday could reignite those hopes.
