Russell Wilson passes for 414 yards, defense forces 3 turnovers as Steelers beat Bengals

CINCINNATI — The Pittsburgh Steelers came here expecting a shootout with the Cincinnati Bengals, knowing they would have to outscore or stop the NFL’s most potent passing attack.

The Steelers did both. Russell Wilson delivered their first 400-yard passing game in six seasons. And the defense created three turnovers, including one for a touchdown that provided the difference.

Wilson overcame a pick-6 on his first possession to pass for 414 yards and three touchdowns as the Steelers compiled 520 yards total offense for a 44-38 win over their AFC North rivals Sunday afternoon before 66,112 at Paycor Stadium.

Two days after turning 36, Wilson completed 29 of 38 passes in distributing the ball to 10 receivers for the second-highest passing yards of his 13-year NFL career.

(He was 26 of 41 for 452 yards and four touchdowns for Seattle against Houston on Oct. 29, 2017). It was the most passing yards by a Steelers quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger had 462 in a 24-17 loss at Denver on Nov. 25, 2018.

“It’s always a challenge, the intimacy of these divisional relationships — we know them, they know us — but I just thought our group smiled in the face of it, particularly Russ,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of Wilson, in his first season with the Steelers.

“It’s the first time for him going through this AFC North football, and I thought he acclimated himself to it well today. He put himself squarely in the history of these series and this series with that performance toady, man, and we’re thankful for it.”

The Steelers (9-3) withstood a 309-yard, three-touchdown passing performance by Burrow, who completed 28 of 38 passes but also had an interception and lost a pair of fumbles on strip sacks, to hand the Bengals (4-8) their seventh defeat by single digits this season.

It was the Steelers’ 10th win here in their past 12 games, including a playoff victory following the 2016 season, and it required their most points since a 52-21 win over the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 8, 2018.

“We needed all 44 of those points,” said Tomlin, who clinched an 18th consecutive non-losing season. “When playing against Joe Burrow & Co., chances are you might have to score some points.”

Still, for a fifth consecutive game, it came down to the final minutes.

Despite leading by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Steelers were clinging to a six-point lead at the two-minute mark. On a third-and-4 at the Cincinnati 40, the Steelers turned to backup quarterback Justin Fields, who ran a play-action keeper for a 7-yard gain and a first down with 1e minute, 12 seconds left to clinch the win.

The Steelers got off to an ominous start on their opening drive when, on third-and-3 from their own 45, Wilson’s pass was intercepted by Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, who got away with dragging intended receiver George Pickens down by the facemask. Taylor-Britt sprinted along the visiting sideline, following a block by linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither on Wilson on his way to a 51-yard touchdown return and a 7-0 Cincinnati lead.

Afterward, referee Shawn Hochuli explained in a pool report that Pickens stumbled at the line of scrimmage and incidental contact brought him down.

“I think our response was great,” Wilson said. “We did a really good job of staying confident and not letting one play faze us.”

The Steelers answered with a seven-play, 70-yard scoring drive highlighted by a 25-yard pass to Najee Harris on third-and-2 and capped by Wilson’s 17-yard touchdown throw to Pickens to tie the score at 7-7 with 7:41 remaining in the first quarter.

Chase Brown broke back-to-back runs of 13 and 40 yards — where he was tripped up by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. — before scoring on a 1-yard run to give the Bengals a 14-7 lead.

Cordarrelle Patterson replaced Harris and had four consecutive touches to finish the first quarter, catching passes of 8 and 9 yards followed by runs of 12 and 2 yards. That set up Wilson’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III to tie the score at 14-14 just 4 seconds into the second quarter.

The Bengals responded with a 70-yard scoring drive, set up by a pass interference penalty by Porter on wide receiver Andrei Iosivas in the end zone. Burrow scrambled before finding Ja’Marr Chase, who pulled in a 4-yard pass for his NFL-leading 13th touchdown reception and a 21-14 Bengals lead.

Harris returned to score on a 10-yard run that tied the score for the third time, making it 21-21 at 7:19 of the second.

The Bengals were in Steelers territory when outside linebacker T.J. Watt stripped a scrambling Burrow from behind, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Preston Smith at the Pittsburgh 39 with 4:36 remaining in the half. The Steelers took advantage of the turnover and a 29-yard catch-and-run by Jaylen Warren to put Chris Boswell in position to give them their first lead of the game with a 50-yard field goal to make it 24-21.

When right guard Alex Cappa was called for a false start on fourth-and-1 at the Cincinnati 39, the Bengals were forced to punt.

Burrow said it was a “disappointing call,” asserting that the Steelers lined up in the neutral zone and adding that the officiating crew “missed that one.”

Wilson completed 6 of 6 passes for 59 yards to lead an eight-play, 65-yard scoring drive capped with Boswell’s 34-yard field goal as time expired to give the Steelers a 27-21 halftime lead.

“That was a big play in the game,” Burrow said. “That’s a first down for us. Maybe we get points, maybe we don’t. But they get the ball then go get three, and I don’t think they do that if the call is correct in that situation. A lot more went wrong than that, but it was a big call in the game.”

By halftime, Wilson was on his way to one of the best performances of his career. He completed 21 of 27 attempts for 257 yards — his most ever in a first half — as the Steelers outgained the Bengals, 310-181.

The Steelers opened the second half by going deep into Cincinnati territory on a 36-yard pass to Pickens to the 13, only for the mercurial wide receiver to draw another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when he mimicked a shooting motion toward the crowd.

Because it was directed at fans, it didn’t disqualify Pickens from the game. But it did cost the Steelers a scoring chance, as the 15-yard penalty pushed them back to the 28, and Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai blocked Boswell’s 42-yard field goal attempt.

Burrow completed a 31-yard pass to Higgins on a third-and-21 and a 20-yard pass to Mike Gesicki to lead the Bengals on a 12-play drive that took 7:35, but a sack by Watt and Keanu Benton forced a 38-yard field goal by Evan McPherson that cut their lead to 27-24 with 3:53 left in the third.

The Steelers continued to break big plays, with a 20-yard run by Harris and a 23-yard pass to Ben Skowronek set up Wilson’s 25-yard touchdown pass to Freiermuth for a 34-24 lead with 22 seconds left in the third quarter.

Where the Steelers came up empty after Donte Jackson intercepted a pass tipped by Cameron Heyward, they scored when outside linebacker Nick Herbig stripped Burrow and inside linebacker Payton Wilson returned the fumble recovery 21 yards for a touchdown and 41-24 lead.

There was still 11:06 remaining, plenty of time for Burrow to lead the Bengals downfield. He got assistance from the Steelers, who drew three separate flags on one play. The Bengals declined two, but Porter was called for pass interference in the end zone, setting up a 1-yard scoring pass to Higgins to cut it to 41-31 at 8:39.

Wilson’s 43-yard pass to Van Jefferson set up Boswell’s 40-yard field goal for a 13-point lead with 3:56 remaining, but the Bengals answered with a 49-yard pass to Chase that set up a 3-yard scoring pass to Iosivas that cut it to 44-38 with 2:39 left. Connor Heyward recovered Cincinnati’s onsides kick attempt at the Bengals 46.

Then the Steelers put the finishing touches on another close victory.

“Every game matters. The reality is that all of these games are going to feel like playoff games. It’s getting us ready for where we want to go and what we want to do,” Wilson said. “I kept telling the guys at halftime and throughout the game, ‘We haven’t done nothing yet. We haven’t done nothing yet. We’ve got to finish. We’ve got to finish. We’ve got to do it right.’ It’s the same thing with respect to the end of the season: We’ve got to keep swinging. We’ve got to keep responding.”