The Steelers finally kicked a miserable first-quarter habit to the curb Sunday, and they did it in style.
Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati 30-27 in Week 3, and the opening quarter alone looked nothing like the dead start fans had grown used to. Aaron Rodgers found Roman Wilson for a 38-yard touchdown down the left sideline just 1:50 into the game, then came back with 52 seconds left in the first to hit Ben Skowronek on a 23-yard score. That second touchdown capped an 11-play, 86-yard drive and pushed the Steelers past a mark they had somehow been carrying for far too long.
That was the end of a 69-game streak without scoring more than seven points in the first quarter. If you count the regular season and the playoffs, the number grows to 72 straight games. Either way, it stopped cold in Cincinnati.
Before Sunday, Pittsburgh’s last first-quarter outburst of more than seven points came in Week 1 of the 2022 season, also against the Bengals. In that 23-20 overtime win, the Steelers put up 10 in the opening quarter. Sunday’s performance made it 1,477 days since they’d done it again.
The bigger story, though, was how alive the offense looked overall.
After managing only three points in Week 2 against the New England Patriots, the Steelers opened things up against Cincinnati. Rodgers attacked downfield throughout the first half and, despite going 12 of 21 before halftime, still racked up 190 passing yards in those two quarters. There was even more room to grow, too, because a costly drop by Wilson led to an interception and seven points for the Bengals before the break.
Pittsburgh kept pushing after that. The offense finished with 411 total yards, and Rodgers turned in one of his biggest Steelers games yet with 292 passing yards and three touchdowns.
The defense had a rough afternoon against a strong Bengals attack, but the offensive jump was impossible to miss. After such a sluggish start to the season, this was the kind of showing that gives the Steelers something to build on.
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The Steelers 30-27 win over the Bengals in Week 3 fit neatly into a familiar rivalry script: Pittsburgh found enough answers late, Cincinnati found another painful way to let one slip away. Joe Burrow threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns on 28-of-37 passing, but a late fumble helped tilt the game back toward the Steelers, and the Bengals were again left sorting through the kind of loss that tends to linger in a division race.
Burrow responded by urging his teammates to take ownership after the defeat, which is where the frustration really starts for Cincinnati. The defense had trouble slowing Jaylen Warren and Aaron Rodgers, and the Bengals are still left to reckon with the same problem teams in the AFC North hate most - a rivalry game they were in position to win, only to watch Pittsburgh walk out with it again. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Warrens Big Day Reignited A Steelers Frustration Fans Know Too Well
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Even so, the image was enough to send Steelers fans back to a familiar frustration: the playing surface at Acrisure Stadium. The field, shared by the Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh, has drawn complaints before, and the odd sequence involving Warren only reopened the conversation after a game in which his workload and production gave Pittsburgh plenty to like. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Finally Found An Offensive Spark But A Bigger Concern Remains
The Steelers got a much-needed offensive jolt in their Week 3 win over the Bengals, and for one afternoon at least, the unit looked more balanced than it had in the opening weeks. Jaylen Warren was a big part of that turnaround with a strong rushing performance, while some changes along the offensive line seemed to help the group find a better rhythm. It was the kind of showing Pittsburgh had been searching for, especially after an uneven start that had left plenty of questions about how quickly the offense could settle in.
Still, the bigger concern sits on the other side of the ball. Pittsburghs defense showed some vulnerabilities in the 30-27 win, and the absence of Joey Porter Jr. was hard to miss as Cincinnati found enough success to keep the game tight throughout. The Steelers can take comfort in finally seeing signs of life on offense, but they also know the next stretch will tell a lot about whether that improvement is sustainable if the defense remains a little less sure of itself. [Read more 🡒]