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Our SCU staff and contributors pick the “surprises” from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ latest matchup each week. Check out more below to see which plays and situations surprised us the most!
The Pittsburgh Steelers picked up their ninth win of the 2024 season with a 44-38 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The victory gives the Steelers a 1.5-game lead in the AFC North over the Baltimore Ravens.
Here are some surprises from that game.
Russell Wilson’s Big Game
Russell Wilson tore into the Bengals’ defense for what was a career day, not only in the black and gold but in the veteran quarterback’s 13 years in the NFL.
Wilson’s 414 passing yards were his second-most in a game, trailing his 452 yards when he was a member of the Seahawks in October of 2017. His previous second-best game occurred in September of 2019, with 406 yards.
Wilson would also throw for three touchdowns, as the Steelers scored over 40 points for the first time since the 2018 season. (October 7th, 2018 against the Atlanta Falcons.) Not only were the Steelers’ 44 points impressive from that standpoint, but many sportsbooks and casinos, including Ontario’s top choice for real money games, had the over/under line set at 47 points. Pittsburgh almost reached that mark by themselves!
10 Different Receivers
While Wilson connected on three touchdown passes to George Pickens, Calvin Austin, and Pat Freiermuth, he would also spread the ball around plenty in this game.
Wilson connected with ten different receivers on the day, with each of the players below catching at least one pass from the quarterback:
- George Pickens
- Pat Freiermuth
- Jaylen Warren
- Najee Harris
- Van Jefferson
- Cordarrelle Patterson
- Calvin Austin
- Ben Skowronek
- MyCole Pruitt
- Darnell Washington
Penalties
This game featured a wild amount of penalties, including many that were not accepted! Of the accepted penalties, the Steelers were penalized nine times for 103 yards while the Bengals were tagged eleven times for 101 yards.
There were nine more penalties of which were not accepted but called during the game.
The major culprits appeared to be Steelers WR George Pickens and CB Joey Porter Jr.. Pickens was flagged four times while Porter drew six calls total.
The more shocking aspect of these calls was that George Pickens was dragged to the ground during the Steelers first offensive series, with the ball sailing to the Bengals for a pick-six and the first points of the game. Pickens was visibly upset with the no-call and drew the ire of the officials all game long, while Porter appeared to be in the crosshairs for the same reason, as minimal contact or uncatchable passes became penalties on the second-year pro.
Defensive Score
The Steelers would even out the non-call pick-six play later in the game when rookie linebacker Payton Wilson would scoop a loose ball from a Nick Herbig strip-sack and take it to the house.
At the time the game was starting to lean in the Steelers favor, as the Freiermuth touchdown catch put Pittsburgh up by ten, but Wilson’s big play would essentially secure a three-score lead with 11:06 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Joe Burrow was sacked four times in the game, with two leading to lost fumbles and another inopportune throw being tipped by Cameron Heyward and intercepted by Dante Jackson. The Steelers defense still relinquished 38 points, the most they’ve ceded in game this season, but were still able to force splash plays in big moments to secure the victory.
Fields’ Fake Handoff
The Bengals still made a game of it down to the wire, scoring with 2:39 left in the game to close the gap to 44-38.
All the Steelers had to do was get beyond the two-minute warning and eat the remaining clock, as Cincinnati had already burned all of their timeouts. In order to accomplish this, they would have to gain a first down on their final drive.
Two short Najee Harris runs would setup a 3rd-and-4 situation from the Bengals 40-yard line. It would appear everyone knew what might happen next, as QB Justin Fields entered the game for Russell Wilson and huddled his teammates.
After starting the first portion of the season in place of an injured Wilson, Fields had become a specialty player, often used to help spark the Steelers running game with his speed. You had to know that Fields was going to keep the ball to try and secure the first down – and the game – but what happened next faked everyone out.
While everyone guessed Fields would keep the ball, his fake handoff to Jaylen Warren was so crisp that by the time the Bengals figured out Warren didn’t have the football, it was too late. Fields slid past the first down marker, ensuring the Steelers could kneel down and run out the clock.
5 Steelers surprises in Sunday’s win against the Bengals appeared first on Steel City Underground.