After it felt like the sky was falling following the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 2 loss to the New England Patriots, Mike McCarthy's team responded with a statement win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The offense finally came alive, putting up 30 points and earning its first AFC North win of the season.
Through the first two weeks, the Steelers’ offense looked dreadful and struggled to find any sort of rhythm. On Sunday, though, they completely flipped the script. Right from the opening drive, Pittsburgh looked like a much more complete unit, finding success both through the air and on the ground.
The Steelers finished with 411 yards of total offense in what was easily their best offensive performance of the season. While it was a strong showing from nearly the entire unit, these four players stood out the most and helped push Pittsburgh over the edge in a huge divisional win.
Pittsburgh Steelers standouts against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3
Jaylen Warren delivers a monster day on the ground
After the Steelers’ running game was practically nonexistent through the first two weeks of the season, and with Rico Dowdle out against the Bengals, it was going to be the Jaylen Warren show. He took advantage of the opportunity and delivered in a big way.
Warren made his presence felt from the very first play, turning a simple dump-off into a huge gain. From there, he continued to give the Bengals problems, ripping off several big runs, including one that was called back on a questionable holding penalty. Warren finished the game with 176 total yards, rushing for 127 yards and adding 49 yards receiving.
Revamped right side of the OL pays off with Brock Hoffman and Max Iheanachor
The offensive line looked putrid through the first two weeks of the season and nearly got Aaron Rodgers killed against the Patriots. Going into Sunday, Mike McCarthy desperately needed to make a change, and that’s exactly what he did.
Spencer Anderson, who started the season at right guard, and Dylan Cook, who started at right tackle, were replaced by Brock Hoffman and 2026 first-round pick Max Iheanachor. The changes paid off immediately. Rodgers consistently had time to drop back and go through his reads, rarely faced pressure, and the running game finally took off.
The revamped right side completely changed what the Steelers were able to do offensively. After being limited by poor protection and an ineffective running game through the first two weeks, Pittsburgh was finally able to open up the offense and find success in multiple ways.
Aaron Rodgers delivers a vintage performance
With a new-look offensive line and an actual running game to work with, we saw Aaron Rodgers turn back the clock and deliver a vintage performance. He was pushing the ball downfield, extending plays, and making things happen while moving around the pocket.
Rodgers finished just shy of 300 yards, throwing for 292 yards and three touchdowns in easily his best performance of the season. With better protection giving him more time to operate, hopefully this is a sign of what this offense can look like moving forward.
For the first time in years, the Steelers might finally have a legitimate passing attack that opposing defenses have to worry about.
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