Only the Pittsburgh Steelers could score 44 points in a game and still have their fans biting their nails in the final minutes.
In a game that we definitely all saw coming, the Steelers won a complete shootout in Cincinnati with the Bengals, capping off the highest scoring NFL game this season, 44-38.
It was the most anti-AFC North type of game to ever be played, but it was very encouraging to see the offense respond the way they did after that demoralizing loss in Cleveland last game.
I definitely have some thoughts on this game, so let’s get into it:
1: An Offense Like I’ve Never Seen
The Steelers put together an offensive showing that this city and the league hasn’t seen from them in over half a decade. Their 44 points were their highest output since a Week 5 win in 2018, where the Steelers beat up the Atlanta Falcons 41-17.
The team racked up 520 total yards, which they have not done since the Wild Card game back in 2020 (that 48-37 loss to Cleveland). They have not done that in a regular season game since Week 12 in Denver in 2018 (a game they somehow also lost).
For Russell Wilson, his 414 passing yards was the second highest mark of his Hall of Fame career, being bested only by a 2017 Week 8 game against the Houston Texans, where he threw for 452 yards in a 41-38 for Seattle.
After that loss against the Browns, the offense needed a bounce back game like that. They were manhandled in all areas in Cleveland, but their offense looked unacceptably sluggish and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith had his worst game-calling since coming to Pittsburgh in the offseason.
Even with an improved offense, this is not the type of game that the Steelers want to play. Any type of shootout almost always favors their opponent. Not today.
2: TJ Made Plays, Finally
I understand the obstacles that TJ Watt is facing. His defensive coordinator does a poor job of scheming him well, and even when Watt gets a good jump, he’s facing a double team and usually a hold in the process.
But to be a truly great team, you need your best players to be your best players all the time. Last week, TJ Watt was not that. Yesterday, he was.
He came up with a huge strip sack on Joe Burrow which really halted Cincinnati’s first half momentum. He finished the day with a pair of tackles and 1.5 sacks. He looked a lot more like his old self in this game, and with a rematch against Myles Garrett and Cleveland next week, this game should provide TJ some momentum as he looks to take back that imaginary crown Garrett is wearing.
3: Steelers Used Justin Fields In Better, Correct Ways This Time
Before last game, I penned a column for The Pitt News where I said the Steelers needed to open up a lot more of the Justin Fields packages. The Steelers did do that, but at the worst possible times.
I think that turned a lot of people off the prospect of Fields ever entering the game as long as Wilson is healthy, but I think Arthur Smith and the team used Fields in a much more advantageous way yesterday. They didn’t force him into the game, and to be honest for the vast majority he didn’t need to be inserted into the game.
The Steelers sent him in near the goal line on one play, hoping to have Fields draw enough attention away from Jaylen Warren to allow the running back to score. It didn’t work.
But not having Fields run there put just enough doubt in the minds of the Bengals’ defense, so that when Fields was used one more time on a third and short to ice the game, Fields ripped off a 7-yard run to give his team the win.
I am still in on Fields packages, as long as they use him in ways they did today.
4: George Pickens…
I have been a staunch defender of George Pickens since day one. When he had flare ups in his rookie season, I chalked it up to poor quarterback play (which was frustrating to all of us). When the media wanted to run him out of town last season after the Colts game, I said that the Steelers needed to get him the ball a ton in a “put up or shut up” game.
I still love Pickens as a player, but his multiple unsportsman like conduct penalties really hurt the team today. Twice he negated big plays by himself due to a taunting penalty and an conduct penalty. And on both occasions, it set the Steelers way behind in field position battles.
He dropped the ball on an opponent after a play early in the second quarter, which turned a 21-yard pass into a modest 6-yard gain. Was it a little ticky tack? Maybe, and though I’m not excusing Pickens for that penalty, it should have been a learning experience for him and a sign of how the officials were going to call this game.
In the second half, though, Pickens caught a beauty for 36-yards to set the Steelers up in the red zone. However, after a point or gun motion or whatever you want to call it, the officials flagged him again. TWO unsportsman like conduct penalties in the same game should just never, ever happen.
It won’t be a huge talking point because after all of it, the Steelers walked out of there with a win. But that is the kind of stuff that continues to hold Pickens back, even in year three.
5: Mike Williams Does Not Exist
First it was Roman Wilson. Then it was Mike Williams. Steelers wide receivers are disappearing…if they ever existed at all.
In all seriousness, though, I really expected to see a healthy dose of Williams in this game. Pittsburgh’s wide receiver acquisition at the trade deadline made the game-winning play in his Steelers debut in Washington when he caught the game winning touchdown.
Since then, it’s been crickets.
He played just nine snaps in that game, and even though I wanted to see him more, I understood the limited playing time with him being so new.
The next week against Baltimore, he played in 25 snaps (32%) but had no targets. Then with the short week coming up, it was unlikely that the Steelers were going to deploy Williams much more. In Cleveland, Williams was on the field for 19 offensive snaps (28%) but still no targets.
With extended time to get further acclimated with the offense, I thought for sure this would be the game where we really got a look at Williams. Instead, it was his third straight game with no targets.
I mean, guys like MyCole Pruitt, Ben Skowronek (who was excellent in his role again today), Van Jefferson, and late-stage Cordarrelle Patterson all caught passes yesterday.
With Calvin Austin injured in the win and possibly set to miss some time, I would usually say that this would be the prime time for Williams to get more involved. But this wide receiver group is still pretty mediocre…the prime time to get Williams more involved was as soon as he learned the offense.
(Featured photo by Katie Stratman-Imagn Images)
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