The Pittsburgh Steelers are now 9-3 after a 44-38 shootout win over the Cincinnati Bengals. As always, we’ll dive into the players who stood out in the win – here we go.

Varsity

QB Russell Wilson

Wilson cemented himself as the Comeback Player of the Year. His 414 yards were the most by a Steeler since 2018, and it marked the second most yards the future Hall of Famer has ever thrown in a game. Wilson also added three touchdowns in what was easily his best game as a Steeler to help Pittsburgh put up their most points in six years.

DT Cam Heyward

Heyward had one of the best games of his career against the Bengals. He had five tackles, two of which were for loss, as well as a sack and a pass deflection that led to a Donte Jackson interception. Heyward has aged like wine, and is still one of the best defensive linemen in football.

EDGE T.J. Watt

Watt was a non-factor against the Browns, and I wrote in keys to victory that this needed to be a game where Watt made a few splash plays, and he did just that. Watt had two sacks, including a strip sack that was recovered by Preston Smith. Watt also had three tackles for loss, and five hits on quarterback Joe Burrow. He swiftly put himself back in the lead for Defensive Player of the Year after a performance against Cleveland that left many questioning if he was deserving of it.

RB Najee Harris

Harris had a very balanced day, rushing for 75 yards and a touchdown and adding 54 yards receiving. He’s having an incredible year and showing the Steelers he is worth giving some money to this offseason.

EDGE Nick Herbig

Herbig continues to turn into a superstar in front of our eyes. He had a strip sack that helped the Steelers put the game away, as Payton Wilson recovered the fumble and returned it for a touchdown. He is the heir apparent for the Steelers’ pass rush, and watching him make these types of plays routinely should scare opponents.

TE Pat Freiermuth

This was Freiermuth’s best game of the season. He caught six passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.

WR George Pickens

Pickens only had three catches, but they were big ones. One went for a touchdown and the other two went for big gains, although they were negated due to penalties. He had 70 yards on the day.

WR Calvin Austin

Austin has back-to-back weeks with a receiving touchdown, both of which came on similar plays. He only had two catches, but every touchdown mattered in the win.

LB Payton Wilson

The rookie’s touchdown helped put the game on ice as Pittsburgh went up 17.

RT Broderick Jones

For as much as we’ve dumped on Jones this season, he played very well on Sunday, as did the rest of the offensive line. Keeping Wilson clean, opening up running lanes – it was a very good day up front. I wanted to single Jones out, though, because he showed great leadership multiple times throughout the day, After each of George Pickens’ penalties, Jones was the first to get to him, look him in the eye, and tell him to be smart.

Junior-Varsity

WR George Pickens

The rare instance where a player is on both the Varsity and the JV list. Mike Tomlin said it best after the game – he needs to grow up. Enough dropping balls on opponents faces after the play. You also have to know that you have eyes on you at all times and if you do anything resembling a gun, it’s going to get called. His talent is out of this world, but he needs to mature.

CB Joey Porter Jr

I guess it’s just one of those stretches for Porter because he’s had a very up-and-down month. He struggled against the Commanders, didn’t have a great Browns game, and this was a disaster for him on Sunday. He had six penalties, four of which were accepted. The secondary as a whole had a day to forget, but Porter really struggled.

Rest of Secondary

Cam Sutton allowed a touchdown pass to Tee Higgins late in the game where he stood no chance. On the Ja’Marr Chase touchdown, Donte Jackson got beat pretty quick and looked as if he wasn’t necessarily running at full speed after the fact which helped Chase get the score. The lack of splash plays from Minkah Fitzpatrick has become alarming. It wasn’t a good day for the Steelers’ defensive backs, but a shootout was also expected.