Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Christmas came early for the Steelers this week.
Christmas came early for the Pittsburgh Steelers. On Saturday Pittsburgh took the Cincinnati Bengals to task and handed them a huge loss thanks to the play of guys like Mason Rudolph, George Pickens and T.J. Watt. Sticking with the Christmas theme for this week’s studs and duds, let’s look at who is getting presents and who is getting a big fat lump of coal.
George Pickens had a huge game against the Bengals on Saturday.
The biggest story for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday was the huge performance by wide receiver Goerge Pickens. After several bad weeks, Pickens bounced back with four receptions for 195 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.
This feat was made more remarkable when you consider just how poorly Pickens had played. But maybe three straight weeks of public criticism motivated him to play harder. After the game, Pickens was asked what he learned this week and his answer was exactly what you would have expected.
“I probably just say I kept receipts for sure, but guys and people, they just got a job to do,” Pickens said. “That’s probably the biggest thing I took out of it.”
I’m not sure who he was referring to when he said “they” but it definitely seems he learned how to do his own job better this week and that’s all he should be concerned with at this point. If he doesn’t want to take heat from the media and fans, keep doing what you did on Saturday. Problem solved.
Pickens big game gave him 56 receptions and 1,009 yards on the season with three games to play.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
Mason Rudolph helped pull off a critical win over division rival Cincinnati Bengals.
Mason Rudolph and George Pickens carried the Steelers to a huge win.
Not only did the Pittsburgh Steelers snap their three-game losing streak on Saturday, they did it in impressive fashion with a blowout win over the Cincinnati Bengals. This means a sweep for the Steelers over the Bengals and they keep the playoffs in the picture with two games left to play. Here are our big takeaways from the win.
Mason Rudolph led the Steelers to a huge division win on Saturday.
Four weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati. On Saturday night, after losing three games in a row, the Steelers did it again, this time at Acrisure Stadium.
Led by quarterback Mason Rudolph, the Steelers offense looked the best it has all season. Rudolph looked confident and polished, and understood the assignment of getting the football to wide receiver George Pickens. Pickens finished with four catches for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
On defense, three different Steelers picked off Bengals quarterback Jake Browning three times, and the pass rushers harassed Browning all game long. The patchwork run defense kept running back Joe Mixon in check, and WR Tee Higgins was the only bright spot for the Bengals.
The Steelers are 8-7 with two games left and are still alive in the playoff race. Can they bring this same level of energy and effort next week against the Seattle Seahawks?
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
Jaylen Warren showed George Pickens how to block for a teammate on that touchdown run.
Last week, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren was denied a short touchdown in part because wide receiver George Pickens opted not to block for him near the goal line. This week Warren was in the position to make a black and he showed Pickens how it was done as he paved the way for wide receiver Calvin Austin.
Watch the block from Jaylen Warren on the touchdown. 😳
📺: #CINvsPIT on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/yewPow3ekF pic.twitter.com/dIJqVQx4uB— NFL (@NFL) December 23, 2023
The Steelers have come out hot and fast against the Bengals with two scoring drives in the first quarter and a 14-0 lead.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
That big touchdown should make George Pickens pretty happy.
It seems that three weeks of public ridicule and criticism have inspired the Pittsburgh Steelers. On the team’s opening drive against the Cincinnati Bengals it only took two players for the Steelers to get on the board.
Quarterback Mason Rudolph threw a strike to wide receiver George Pickens which he proceeded to take 86 yards to the house to put the Steelers up 7-0 very early in the first quarter. Pickens took a perfect short route and thanks to his speed just pulled away from the Bengals defense.
86-YARD TOUCHDOWN ‼️
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/T87FSnfvVk pic.twitter.com/d9oUDFFNIv
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 23, 2023
The Steelers offense has been under heavy scrutiny the past three weeks but they seem to have rallied early this week. Rudolph looks calm and in command of the offense and the skill players and offensive line are all going out and playing hard.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
Seven players are inactive for this week’s game.
Here are the Pittsburgh Steelers’ inactives for this afternoon and they are preparing to take on the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Steelers must play discplined football this week with a focus on running the football.
Despite all the problems with the Pittsburgh Steelers this season, the team is still playing meaningful football late in the season and that’s more than many teams can say. The players and coaches are trying to focus on winning Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals and shutting out all the noise. Here are our keys to victory this week.
The Steelers establish the run but can’t get the win this week.
This week the Pittsburgh Steelers have one final shot to salvage the season but to do that they must beat the Cincinnati Bengals for the second time in five weeks. The last three weeks the Steelers have found a way to sink a little lower each week and no one knows if they can dig them out of this whole. Here are four bold predictions for this week.
