The Pittsburgh Steelers took to the field for the last time in Pittsburgh for the 2023 season. And what did they do? The Steelers gave a great Christmas gift to both the fans in attendance and those watching at home with a dominating win over the Cincinnati Bengals

So without further ado, here are some of the numbers involved in the Steelers Week 16 win over the Bengals.

+3

After finishing the game three spots on the wrong side of zero last week, the Steelers took the ball away three times from a Bengals offense that only had 11 turnovers through 14 games. The Steelers had three interceptions and turned all of the ensuing possessions into points with two touchdowns and a field goal. Additionally, the Steelers had two key fourth down stops which acted much like turnovers.

34

The Steelers broke out and scored 34 points on offense with 24 points coming in the first half. It was the most points the Steelers scored this season as their previous high of 26 points against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2 came courtesy of two defensive touchdowns. It is the most points the Steelers have scored in a victory since they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 31–10 in Week 10 of the 2020 season.

124.0

Mason Rudolph put up quite an impressive stat line. Throwing for 290 yards on 17 completions from 27 attempted passes, Rudolph had two passing touchdowns. Additionally, Rudolph had a 124.0 passer rating which is the highest of any Steelers quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger’s 125.4 in week five of the 2020 season in a 38–29 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

86

On the Steelers second offensive play of the game, Mason Rudolph hit George Pickens in the middle of the field and broke free for an 86-yard touchdown. In the second half, the two connected again for a 66-yard touchdown. The first touchdown was the Steelers longest of the 2023 season and their first over 85 yards since 2018 when Ben Roethlisberger connected with JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 97-yard touchdown against the Denver Broncos. On the season, the Steelers now have five touchdowns of 65 yards or more with two of them coming in this game.

50%

The Steelers also saw remarkable improvement in their third-down efficiency as they were 7 for 14 throughout the game for a 50% conversion rate. In the first half, the Steelers were 4 of 6 with a 67% conversion rate on their way to opening up a 24–0 lead at halftime.

67%

With the Steelers being towards the bottom of the NFL in their overall red zone efficiency, this game they were two for three with a 67% conversion rate. The Steelers only failed red zone attempt came midway through the fourth quarter but instead of choosing to go for it on fourth and one at the Cincinnati 12 yard line, they chose to push the lead from 20 to 23 points and settled for the 30-yard field goal.

64 in 2:14

One of the issues with the Steelers last week was giving up a score late at the end of the first half. With 2:14 remaining in the first half, the Steelers took over at their own 5-yard lines after getting a fourth-down stop. But instead of giving the ball back to the Bengals before the end of the half, the Steelers moved 64 yards on 12 plays and finished the half with a Chris Boswell 50-yard field goal as time expired, keeping the momentum going into the halftime break.

4 for 195

It just wouldn’t be right to not mention the stat line of George Pickens in this game. Putting up 195 yards on only four catches, Pickens averaged 48.8 yards per catch and had two touchdowns. Pickens was only targeted six times in the game and of is 195 yards, 112 came on yards after the catch.

0

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Steelers tight ends were barely used throughout the game. Pat Freiermuth had zero receptions on zero targets as the Bengals had a plan to take him away after his break out performance earlier this season. Additionally, Connor Heyward was not targeted in the game either. The only target that went to a Steelers tight end was to Darnell Washington where he had a reception for an 8-yard gain.

1

Boy, it’s nice to write this number again. After three tough weeks the Steelers put another tally in the win column and pushed their record back above .500 for the season. As important as it was to get the win, the Steelers did so in a decisive manner in order to instill confidence throughout the fan base going into the final two games of the season

So there are some numbers to help put the Steelers Week 16 win in perspective. After dropping three games in a row, there is a slight glimmer of hope to finish out the year.

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