PITTSBURGH — Powered by pop passes, the Wildcat formation and a rejuvenated ground game, the Pittsburgh Steelers got in the win column for the first time this season with a 27-3 victory against the Bengals on Monday night.
More importantly, it charted a road map for the Steelers to succeed with quarterback Mason Rudolph in 2019.
Primarily targeting his running backs, Rudolph thrived on short-yardage throws, completing 24 of 28 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Rudolph averaged 8.2 yards per attempt, but 169 of his 229 passing yards came after the catch.
Rudolph stretched the field a couple of times, but the Steelers’ game plan showed he didn’t need to. It was enough to chip away with short passes, while allowing the versatile running backs shoulder most of the offensive load. The Steelers will obviously face tougher teams than the 0-4 Bengals in the coming weeks, but Monday’s win was a step in the right direction.
Describe the game in two words: Complete performance. If it wasn’t enough that the defense mauled Andy Dalton with eight sacks, the offense hummed along after a sputtering start to score on four straight possessions spanning the second and third quarters.
Buy a breakout performance: Buy all the stock in Jaylen Samuels. Technically, he’s a running back, but he did it all Monday night. He became the first NFL player with multiple completions, rushes and receptions in a game since Terrelle Pryor in 2016 and the first Steeler to do it since Mewelde Moore in Week 4, 2009 against the Chargers. A week ago, Samuels was barely used. He got on the field for 14 snaps, but didn’t touch the ball. After an anemic run game in San Francisco, the coaching staff shook it up and completely integrated Samuels in this week’s plan. In addition to traditional running back duties, Samuels was used in the wildcat formation six times for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Promising trend: James Conner got back on track with three plays of at least 20 yards — including a season-long 21-yard run. Conner showed visible frustration after the first three weeks of the season when he had only one play that went more than 20 yards. Conner finished the night with 42 yards on 10 carries, and he was the Steelers’ top receiver with 83 yards on eight targets and a touchdown. On a night when JuJu Smith-Schuster was quiet, Conner’s complete performance was a difference-maker.
Pivotal play: Linebacker Bud Dupree made the defensive play of the game when he strip-sacked Andy Dalton at the Steelers’ 18-yard line — one of the Steelers’ eight sacks Monday night. Cincinnati was in the final stages of responding to the Steelers’ first touchdown drive with a long scoring drive of their own when Dupree swarmed Dalton and knocked the ball loose. T.J. Watt recovered it to end the Bengals’ longest drive (46 yards) to that point. Cincinnati’s next three drives went for a net of 18 yards.