Russell Wilson Has Historic Performance in Steelers Win vs. Bengals
CINCINNATI — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson lit it up in the Steelers’ 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, completing 29 of 38 passes (76.3%) for 414 yards (10.9 average), three touchdowns, one interception, and a quarterback rating of 126.4.
Wilson’s 414 yards passing were the second-most in his 13-year career. He is also the first Steelers QB with 400+ pass yards in a game since Ben Roethlisberger in 2018.
Russell Wilson completed 8 of 9 passes over 10 air yards for 205 yards and two touchdowns (+34.8% completion percentage over expected, his third-highest mark in a game over the last seven seasons), according to Next Gen Stats. Wilson currently leads all qualified QBs in CPOE on attempts over 10 air yards this season (+15.7%).
“I just turned 36 the other day. I feel like I’m 26. Maybe I’m 30,” Wilson said after the game.
Russell Wilson completed 8 of 9 passes over 10 air yards for 205 yards and 2 TDs (+34.8% CPOE, his 3rd-highest mark in a game over the last seven seasons).
Wilson currently leads all qualified QBs in CPOE on attempts over 10 air yards this season (+15.7%).
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— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 1, 2024
Overall, the offense racked up 520 yards in the win over Cincinnati. It was the first time that the Steelers surpassed 500 yards of offense in the regular season since Nov. 25. 2018 at Denver. The Steelers also scored 40 or more points for the first time in a game since November 8, 2018, against the Carolina Panthers.
“I thought we had a tremendous day. It all starts with the offensive line,” Wilson said. “I thought they did a tremendous job. The multiple things they do up front and different looks they give, I thought the o-line handled it in a great way. I got to a lot of checks, a lot of audibles in the run game and the pass game, getting to stuff that was favorable for us. I just think guys did a great job making plays.”
Wilson told Evan Washburn of CBS Sports in his post-game interview that the team was champing at the bit after last Thursday night’s loss to the Cleveland Browns.
“I think last week was tough for us. We responded in such a great way,” he said.
"I think last week was tough for us. We responded in such a great way." @EvanWashburn caught up with Russell Wilson after a massive performance in a @steelers W pic.twitter.com/eTZ82QwDcR
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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin admitted that the game plan against the Bengals was to be aggressive.
“We wanted to come out and attack because we knew what they would give us. These divisional matchups, it’s not checkers, it’s chess.”
He also acknowledged that the Steelers needed to put up points on Joe Burrow and the Bengals high-octane offense.
“We needed all 44 of those points, didn’t we? When you’re playing against Joe Burrow, chances are that you’re going to have to score some points,” Tomlin said.
Wilson is 5-1 as the Steelers’ starting quarterback. He has a 65.8% completion rate for 1,626 yards (8.7 YPA) 10 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a 104.3 passer rating.
In Sunday’s win over Cincinnati, Wilson completed passes to 10 different players.
Alan Saunders and Aaron Becker provided reporting from Cincinnati.
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