The Steelers posted 520 yards and rang up the scoreboard for their highest totals since the 2018 season in Sunday’s 44-38 win over the Bengals.
But don’t expect head coach Mike Tomlin to be all too comfortable in those types of games. A defensive-minded coach, Tomlin is never at ease when his team gets into a shootout.
It is nice, however, to know that he has an offense capable of putting up those kind of numbers.
He’d just much rather his defense shut a team down and not have to see his team put 40 points on the board.
“I don’t know that I’m ever comfortable planning to shoot out,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “It’s just my background and my expertise. To be quite honest with you, I respect offenses and talented players, and I acknowledge when we’re faced with stiff challenges, but it doesn’t mean that I’ll ever be comfortable in those circumstances.
“I have certain expectations because of my professional journey on defense, that I expect us to slow those things down and minimize some of that and the rare instances that we don’t. I’m thankful that we have an offense that’s capable of matching it.”
The Steelers (9-3) came out attacking against the Bengals (4-8), knowing Cincinnati would have at least some success moving the ball. Quarterback Joe Burrow is having an outstanding season, leading the league in passing yards and touchdown passes, while wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins form one of the league’s top duos.
With that in mind, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith called 27 passing plays and nine runs in the first half, as quarterback Russell Wilson threw for 257 yards in the first half – a career-high for a half – en route to posting 414 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Most importantly, the Steelers offense answered Cincinnati score for score over the course of the first half, eventually taking a 27-21 halftime lead, with the Steelers increasing that to 41-24 early in the fourth quarter after a strip-sack by Nick Herbig was turned into a scoop-and-score by rookie linebacker Payton Wilson.
That back-and-forth included Wilson being intercepted on the Steelers’ fourth play of the game when wide receiver George Pickens was thrown to the ground by cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt. Taylor-Britt returned the interception for a 51-yard touchdown. But instead of adjusting the plan of attack, the Steelers and Smith continued to throw the ball.
“Obviously the game didn’t get started the way that we would like in terms of the pick six, but I just liked the offense’s quick response to that in terms of taking the ball and going back down the field,” Tomlin said. “I thought the offense, in several circumstances, displayed the type of complimentary response that you need from an offense, whether it was a turnover response like that or response to a scoring drive by Cincinnati’s offense, I just love that component of our play that was on display.”
The Steelers could need a similar output – however uncomfortable it might make Tomlin – this week against the Cleveland Browns.
The two teams met two weeks ago in Cleveland, a game won 24-19 by the Browns in a snowstorm. Monday night, Cleveland quarterback Jameis Winston completed 34 of 58 passes for a team-record 497 yards and four touchdowns, though he also threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.
After failing to score more than 18 points in a game with Deshaun Watson at quarterback in the first half of the season, Cleveland has scored 24 or more points in three of Winston’s five starts.
“It was some explosive playmaking,” said Tomlin. “They went up and down the field.”
So, getting into high-scoring affairs might not bring Tomlin comfort, but he knows that the Steelers, with Wilson at quarterback, are capable of winning those types of games.
Wilson is averaging 271 passing yards per game, second in the NFL behind only Burrow, and the Steelers have averaged 28.7 points per game in his six starts.
Against Cincinnati, he consistently got the Steelers into good plays at the line of scrimmage and utilized all of his eligible receivers. Ten different players caught passes and the Steelers got 13 catches for 146 yards from their running backs and nine receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown from their tight ends.
“Russ’ experience helps with everything you could,” Tomlin said of the 13-year veteran. “Apply that to any discussion. He’s been doing it at a high level for over a decade.”