Russell Wilson has been involved in a quarterback competition since joining Pittsburgh, battling with Justin Fields for the starting spot.
But there was no doubt on Sunday.
Wilson threw for a career-high 414 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Steelers to a 44-38 win over Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals.
“It was fun. We just had a great time,” Wilson said. “We knew it was a matchup. We knew it was going to be a heavyweight fight.”
Wilson, now 5-1 as the Steelers’ starting quarterback, recorded the second-most passing yards and his third 400-yard game in his career. He had previously thrown for 452 yards with Seattle against Houston in 2017.
Wilson finished 29 of 38 as the Steelers (9-3) bounced back from a 24-19 loss to the Browns on Nov. 21. He also threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown in the first quarter.
“I thought our group smiled in the face of it, particularly (Wilson),” said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. “It’s the first time for him going through AFC North football, and I thought he acclimated himself to it well today. He put himself squarely in the history of this series with that performance today.”
The Bengals (4-8) lost for the fourth time in five games and fell to 1-5 at home, making it more likely that they will miss the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Najee Harris scored a 10-yard touchdown run, and Chris Boswell kicked two field goals to give Pittsburgh a 27-21 lead at halftime. It was the highest-scoring first half in the 110 meetings between the teams. Wilson had 257 yards passing in the first half, his best in a career first half.
Harris finished with 75 rushing yards and 54 receiving yards. George Pickens, Calvin Austin III, and Pat Freiermuth each caught touchdown passes for the Steelers.
“We needed all 44 of those points today,” Tomlin said.
Burrow had another strong game, completing 28 of 38 passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns. However, he hurt his team with a fumble in the first half, leading to a Steelers field goal, and an interception in the second half.
Burrow fumbled again in the fourth quarter after being sacked by Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig, and linebacker Payton Wilson returned the fumble 21 yards for a touchdown.
Chase Brown rushed for a touchdown for the Bengals, and Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Andrei Iosivas each caught a touchdown pass.
The Bengals have allowed 34 or more points in six games this season, including losses in four of their last five.
“Hard to process,” said Chase. “We can’t get a win right now. We’ve had a little margin for error for a while now. Got to find a way.”
