The Pittsburgh Steelers got back to their winning ways with a 44-38 victory in Cincinnati over the Bengals. The offense did not have to warm up to things like they had most of the season, but the defense struggled to slow down the NFL’s top passing offense. The bottom line was the Steelers found a way to get their second divisional win of the season.

So without further ado, here are some of the numbers involved in the Steelers Week 13 win over the Bengals.

+2

The way the game started out on Sunday, it did not appear the Steelers would come out with any kind of advantage when it came to the turnover margin or points scored off turnovers. Surrendering an interception return for a touchdown on a play that was very debatable whether or not it should have stood due to a penalty, the Steelers not only answered with three takeaways but they added their own defensive touchdown as well. The Steelers had two strip sacks in the game, one by T.J. Watt one by Nick Herbig, with the second being returned for a touchdown by Payton Wilson. The Steelers also added an interception by Donte Jackson from a ball that was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Cam Heyward. In all, the Steelers won the battle of points off of turnovers 10–7.

520

The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to put up 520 yards of offense on Sunday against the Bengals. The Steelers had 410 net passing yards and 110 net rushing yards. It was the first time the Steelers had 500 yards of offense in a game since their Wild Card loss in the 2020 season. The last time the Steelers had 500 yards of offense in a winning effort was Week 14 of the 2017 season when they defeated the Baltimore Ravens 39–38. With Russell Wilson throwing for 414 yards, it was only the 17th time a Steelers quarterback has thrown for more than 400 yards and only the fourth different player to do so. Ben Roethlisberger hit 400 passing yards 14 times in his career while Tommy Maddox did it one time in 2002 and Bobby Layne threw for more than 400 yards in a game for the Steelers in 1958.

20

The Steelers were able to put up at least seven points in each quarter of the game on Sunday, with their most coming in the second quarter where they scored 20 points. The Steelers began the quarter with the first play being a 23-yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Calvin Austin, and the Steelers finished the quarter with a 34-yard Chris Boswell field goal. It was the first time the Steelers had scored 20 points or more in a quarter since Week 14 of the 2021 season against the Minnesota Vikings where the Steelers scored 21 of their 28 points in the fourth quarter.

9-103

One particular issue the Steelers need to clean up is the number of penalties called on them in the game. The Steelers had nine penalties accepted against them for 103 yards with four accepted penalties against Joey Porter Jr. As for the Bengals, they had 11 penalties for 101 yards accepted against them in the game.

3

Between the two teams, there were only three punts that occurred in the game. The Bengals punted twice in the game, both of which came in the first half when the Steelers held them to a three and out both times. As for the Steelers, they only had one punt which occurred in the fourth quarter. It was only the Steelers second punt in the last two games, each of which had one punt in the fourth quarter. But this week, the Steelers had much better results as their punt traveled 38 yards and was downed inside the 20-yard line.

44%

Although the Steelers put 44 points on the board in his game, they only had 44% of their third down conversions achieve a first down. The Steelers converted 4 of their 9 third down attempts with the final one coming on their final possession to ice the game. Although having a more than 40% conversion rate on third town is generally positive, the fact the Steelers scored so many points and punted so rarely it is somewhat disappointing to have less than a 50% third down conversion rate, something the Bengals achieved as they went 4 for 8.

50%

While it was a big improvement over the previous two games, the Steelers only converted two of their four red zone trips into touchdowns. One of the red zone trips happened at the end of the first half where the Steelers moved to the 16-yard line to then kick a field goal as time expired. The other failed red zone trip came with less than five minutes left in the game when the Steelers moved to the Bengals 3-yard line but settled for a field goal. Of the Steelers four offensive touchdowns, two of them came from outside the red zone. As for the defense, they allowed the Bengals to score a touchdown on four of there are five red zone trips for an 80% conversion rate.

10

Early in the game, the Steelers were so focused on the passing game of the Bengals that they allowed some pretty significant rushing yards. Having 83 rushing yards on 10 carries in the first half, the Browns only rushed the ball five times for 10 yards in the second half.

10

Using another number 10, the Steelers targeted 10 different players in the passing game on Sunday and all 10 had at least one reception. Of the 10 players, eight of them had a reception that went for at least 20 yards. The only receivers not targeted in the game were Connor Heyward and Mike Williams.

1

Once again, the only number that ultimately matters is if the Steelers were able to put another tally and the win column, which they did. Getting their ninth win of the season, the Steelers have put themselves in a position where playoff clenching scenarios will soon be on the horizon each week.

So there are some numbers to help put the Steelers Week 13 win in perspective. The Steelers now have secured another winning season, but their sights are set on something more.

So what numbers from Sunday’s game stand out to you? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.