A chess match: The Steelers needed a bounce back win against the Cincinnati Bengals and got just that on Sunday, coming away with a 44-38 victory at Paycor Stadium.
The win improves the Steelers to 9-3 on the season, maintaining their hold on first place in the AFC North.
"It's good to go on the road and get an AFC North victory," said Coach Mike Tomlin. "It wasn't an easy one, obviously, particularly if you spot a group like that seven. They had big-time urgency for a lot of reasons.
"And so, to come in here in their place, against the type of quality team that they have, and in this environment and smile in the face of it and get out of here with the necessary win. I just can't say enough about the efforts of the guys in that locker room. Splash playmaking continually over the course of 60 minutes we knew would be required.
"We even talked about the fourth quarter component. This team we played always comes storming back in the fourth. They did it against LAC (Los Angeles Chargers) just on the front side of their bye. We don't take the end of the game for granted.
"We're thankful for the victory, obviously. We've got some things to clean up, but that's life in this business. It's good to do it with a W."
The Bengals got on the scoreboard first when Cam Taylor-Britt intercepted Russell Wilson for a pick-six, the only blip on the radar all day for Wilson, who finished with 414 yards passing and three touchdowns.
"It's always a challenge," said Tomlin. "The intimacy of these divisional individual relationships. We know them, they know us. But I just thought our group smiled in the face of it, particularly Russ.
"This is the first time for him going through this AFC North football. I thought he acclimated himself well today. He put himself squarely in the history of these series, in this series, with that performance today. And we're thankful for that."
The Steelers came out of the gate leaning on Wilson, throwing the ball trying to establish the passing game before getting the run game going.
"We wanted to come out and attack because we knew what they would give us," said Tomlin. "That's what I mean about the depths of these waters, these divisional relationships.
"It is not checkers, it's chess.
"We needed all 44 of those points tonight. When you're playing against Joe Burrow and company, you know chances are you have to score some points.
"That's why we took advantage of the mini-bye in terms of focusing our energies on red zone performance and I'm thankful for that. Looked like we reaped the benefits of that labor today with the way they performed, particularly in the red area."
A heavyweight fight: Quarterback Russell Wilson had his best day in black and gold, completing 29 of 38 passes for 414 yards and three touchdowns, after getting off to a rough start when he threw a pick-six to Cam Britt-Taylor for the Bengals first score.
The key was, the Steelers responded to the adversity.
"They did a good job of making that play," said Wilson. "More than anything else, I just think our response was great. I thought that we did a really good job of staying confident and not letting one play faze us.
"I thought the best thing we did today was respond in the midst of adversity. I thought that we did a great job of scoring touchdowns, making plays, and we felt like there were more plays out there that we could have had.
"That is a testament to our coaching staff, it's a testament to our players, our work ethic and the discipline that we put into the week. We knew that this was going to be a heavyweight fight, and we had to respond and keep swinging."
Wilson responded by connected with 10 different receivers, with Najee Harris pulling in six receptions for 54 yards and 16 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Pat Freiermuth also had six receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown, while George Pickens had three receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown.
"I thought we had a great day," said Wilson. "It all starts off with the line. I thought they did a tremendous job. Multiple looks up front and all the things they do, and the multiplicity of their defense. The O-line handled it in a great way.
"I just think guys did a great job making plays. I thought George made a great catch on the sideline. I thought Pat's plays on his scrambles, and also how he was painting clear pictures. I always say the best receivers are always painting a clear picture. Those guys were painting great pictures today.
"I thought the guys made a lot of plays. I thought Najee ran the ball extremely well. That was huge for us and our run game. He just had a great day.
"It's a great team effort. And then we see the defense just respond, make plays for us. After we had some great responses, they made a huge play. (Nick) Herbig had a great game rushing off the edge. T.J. (Watt) obviously is the best in the world. Cam Heyward, our leaders really stepped up in a huge way today. I think that was really critical.
"So, it was just fun. We just had a great time. We knew it was going to be a heavyweight fight. I told the guys it's going to be a heavyweight fight, and we've got to win it."
It's the culture: While the offense came through with 44 points, the defense had a strong game, making splash plays and creating multiple turnovers at critical times.
The defense took the ball away three times with two forced fumbles, one forced by T.J. Watt, and another by Nick Herbig, which Payton Wilson recovered for a touchdown, in addition to an interception by Donte Jackson.
"It was huge," said Watt. "Obviously, AFC North football, especially on the road. If you want the ball to come through Pittsburgh, you have to win on the road, especially in the North.
"It feels great to get a win. We knew we were going to be in a shootout. Our offense did a great job of putting up points for us, had a heck of a day and we were able to create splash.
"Donte again and obviously Herbig, our guys are continuing showing up in that stuff that we preach. (Outside linebackers coach) Denzel Martin's been a key point of takeaways and everybody wants t-shirts and all that stuff, so it's been a good culture so far."
Watt finished the day with three tackles, two sacks, three tackles for a loss, five quarterback hurries and the forced fumble.
"I'm just trying to make a play any time I'm around the ball, or just trying to continue to search and try to make a play and create a turnover," said Watt. "Joe (Burrow) did a great job all game of stepping up through that b-gap and climbing the pocket, and that was just a way of retracing and getting after the ball and creating a play."
Bringing you the action: For fans who don't want to miss any of the action, NFL+ is here, which means you can now watch the Steelers live and on the go! Watch live local and primetime regular season games on mobile, plus NFL RedZone, NFL Network, live audio and more - all in one place.
