Aaron Rodgers threw touchdown passes to Roman Wilson, Ben Skowronek, and DK Metcalfe, and Jaylen Warren ran for 127 yards to lead the Steelers to a 30-27 upset of the Bengals at Acrisure Stadium.
Chris Boswell kicked a 36-yard field goal with 8:45 left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 27-27, and Boswell then booted one in from 33 yards at 2:15 for the eventual game-winner.
Rodgers was 19-for-34 passing for 292 yards and his lone interception was a ball that should have been caught by Wilson, but glanced off his hands to the Bengals’ Jordan Battle.
On a day when the Steelers’ defense was shredded by quarterback Joe Burrow and star receivers Ja’Mar Chase and Tee Higgins, the biggest play of the day happened on the Bengals’ final drive when defensive tackle Derrick Harmon’s strip sack of Burrow was recovered by Sebastian Joseph-Day, stopping a potential game-tying or game-winning drive by Cincinnati.
Coach Mike McCarthy says the Steelers made the plays when they needed to.
McCarthy made two significant changes to his starting offensive line, replacing right guard Spencer Anderson with veteran Brock Hoffman and right tackle Dylan Cook with first round draft choice Max Iheanachor. He says it helped that the line was working together to incorporate the two newcomers.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers says it felt good to come together as an offense, especially the reversal of the Steelers’ problems converting third downs.
Even though there were questions about whether Jaylen Warren could even play with a bum shoulder, he carried the load for the running game, earning the admiration of his quarterback.
Joey Porter Jr. did not dress for the game, making it three straight that he’s missed due to a back injury and conditioning issues. There were no other apparent injury concerns, although Rodgers limped off the field at the end of the first half after he was hit by the Bengals’ Dexter Lawrence.
The Steelers will get back to work early this week with a Thursday night game coming in Cleveland. The Browns are a surprising 2-1 after another upset win yesterday, 21-19 over Carolina. Also in the AFC North, Baltimore erased a ten-point deficit and beat Dallas, 34-31 in Rio de Janeiro.
