SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTERS
ADVERTISE| CLASSIFIEDS| JOBS| E-TRIB
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS NETWORK TRIBLIVE LOCAL
Western Pennsylvania's trusted news source
Feats of Strength: Defensive patience, Mason Rudolph's solid relief lead to Steelers' rebound against Bengals | TribLIVE.com
Steelers/NFL

Feats of Strength: Defensive patience, Mason Rudolph's solid relief lead to Steelers' rebound against Bengals

Tim Benz
Tim Benz

Sponsored by:

Mike's Beer Bar
9052423_web1_ptr-SteelersBengals15-111725
Chaz Palla | TribLive
Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph throws a first-down pass to DK Metcalf against the Bengals in the fourth quarter Sunday.

The first Steelers-Bengals game of 2025 made the Steelers’ fanbase spit angry hot takes.

The second game just resulted in the Bengals spitting.

It also resulted in Mason Rudolph’s return, injuries to Aaron Rodgers and Jaylen Warren, two defensive touchdowns and one of the angriest runs you’ll ever see.

Most importantly, the Steelers produced a 34-12 victory that improved their record to 6-4 and allowed them to maintain their hold on first place in the AFC North.

There certainly were some grievances to air, but there were more “Feats of Strength” to enjoy. So let’s get to both categories in this week’s edition.

FEATS OF STRENGTH

Dugger’s dagger: Once again, the Steelers were on the verge of proving they can’t win without defensive turnovers.

Then their defense provided a massive turnover.

Trailing 13-9 in the third quarter, the Bengals were moving the ball down the field on what looked like a potential game-changing scoring drive. That’s when safety Kyle Dugger intercepted a Joe Flacco pass at his own 27-yard line and brought it back to the house for a pick-6.

On the play, T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig lined up on the left side of the defensive formation. Jack Sawyer rushed from the right. Herbig quickly looped up the middle of the Bengals’ offensive line and provided pressure on Flacco while Watt collapsed the right side of the protection.

Under duress, Flacco just got rid of the ball without much on it as he attempted to connect with Tee Higgins. Dugger was waiting to make the interception. It was the first of his Steelers tenure.

Mt. Washington landslide: Darnell Washington provided the highlight of the day with his catch-and-run in the second quarter.

The 6-foot-7 tight end rumbled over three Bengals defenders en route to a 31-yard gain.

Washington also provided a clutch third-and-17 conversion in the third quarter. That drive resulted in a Chris Boswell field goal.

The former Georgia Bulldog ended up with 67 yards on four receptions.

Rudolph’s return: Rudolph had to come into the game for an injured Rodgers after halftime. Rodgers suffered an injured left wrist late in the second quarter.

Rudolph didn’t force the action. He threw it underneath to Kenneth Gainwell and DK Metcalf a lot and wound up 12-16 for 127 yards and a touchdown with a 118.5 passer rating.

After spending 2024 in Tennessee, this was Rudolph’s first meaningful action as a Steeler since he led the team to the 2023 playoffs in relief of Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky with three wins to close out that season.

“I love playing here,” Rudolph said after the victory. “This is where I was drafted. This is home. It’s very special.”

He also hit a deep ball to Metcalf on one play, but it was waved off for offensive pass interference.

Chase and Chase: After a 16-catch, 161-yard performance against the Steelers last month, Ja’Marr Chase only had three catches for 30 yards.

His running mate, Tee Higgins, was also held in check a lot more than in the first game. He had three catches for 69 yards.

James Pierre was a big reason. The reserve cornerback was thrust into service and did solid work, including an outstanding PBU on a deep ball to Chase in the first half. Plus, Pierre had a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

As opposed to last time, the Steelers also didn’t over-correct when running back Chase Brown popped a few big runs. After Game 1 between the teams, Mike Tomlin explained they were intent on stopping what Brown was doing mid-game, and that allowed more room for Higgins and Chase to work.

This time, Brown had 99 rushing yards and 28 more receiving, but the Steelers’ defense didn’t divert coverage from the receivers.

“It was understanding the offense. The biggest thing is understanding what they were running. Just understanding that every time something happens, we’re not dying,” linebacker Patrick Queen said. “It’s football. Plays are going to happen.”

Queen led the team with 10 tackles.

Gainwell’s gains: For all that has been advanced about the Steelers failing to use Jaylen Warren on third downs — including from me — none of that was done with the intent to besmirch Kenneth Gainwell.

He is a good back and was a solid offseason acquisition.

I feel like that’s a sentence I’ve written or said 50 times over the past few weeks, so as to clarify that any desire for more Warren playing time isn’t a slap in the face to Gainwell.

The former Philadelphia Eagle proved his worth again Sunday, with Warren going out thanks to a third-quarter ankle injury. Gainwell ended the night with 16 touches, 105 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.

Warren said he could have gone back in. At one point, he re-entered the game during a stoppage but then was called back to the sideline. He said that was “a coach’s decision.”

AIRING OF GRIEVANCES

Single spitter?: Defensive back Jalen Ramsey was ejected in the second half following a fracas that involved Chase. The two men were both flagged for grabbing facemasks and shoving one another at the end of a play.

A few moments later, tempers erupted again. Ramsey was ejected when another dust-up occurred. Ramsey claimed the second incident happened because Chase spat on him.

“He spit on me. So, what’s up? I don’t give a (expletive) about football after that, respectfully,” Ramsey told reporters after the game.

Unfortunately for Ramsey, he has to care about football at that moment. With all the injuries in the secondary — including Bradin Echols going in and out of the game on a few occasions — he can’t afford to get tossed.

“We’ve got to be smarter. We’ve got to stay in football games as individuals,” Tomlin said in his postgame press conference.

For his part, Chase denied spitting at Ramsey.

“I didn’t spit on nobody,” Chase said after the game. However, a video from Fox 19 in Cincinnati appears to tell a different story.

Ramsey left the game with a pass breakup and four tackles.

Buyer’s remorse?: The Steelers’ allergy to heavily involving players they’ve actively retained, paid or sought to acquire is mind boggling.

Pat Freiermuth had one 19-yard catch on one target. Jonnu Smith had no catches on two targets.

Warren was averaging 6.8 yards in the first half. He only had nine touches. Gainwell had nine at that point as well. Warren still wasn’t being used on third downs before he got injured in the second half.

The Steelers traded for Smith in the offseason as part of an alleged tight end-based offense. Freiermuth signed a four-year, $48.4 million extension before last season. Warren got a three-year, $17.5 million extension this offseason.

Freiermuth had 600 career receiving yards against the Bengals entering Sunday’s showdown. He posted 111 and two TDs in their matchup last month.

The Steelers’ ability to out-think themselves knows no limits.

Covering the spread: I didn’t have the penalty counts staying within one score of the combined point total between these teams at halftime. But that’s what happened.

After 30 minutes, the two teams had just 16 points on the board. Referee Bill Vinovich and his crew had called 10 penalties. Three of them were for roughing the passer.

At one point, Flacco slithered his feet through an attempted ankle-tackle by Watt in the backfield. I thought Vinovich was going to whistle Watt for roughing Flacco’s shoelaces.

The zebras were so flag-happy, I seriously started looking for unnecessary roughness penalties during Washington’s long catch-and-run for knocking over would-be tacklers too hard.

I grasp the intent to protect QBs. But it has become a joke. They don’t even know what they are penalizing anymore. Watt’s penalty was unavoidable and looked worse than it was because he got under Flacco’s arm during a throw. The officials need to be smart enough to understand that’s going to look different than a conventional roughing of the quarterback. They essentially flagged Watt for failing to defy gravity on that play.

Also, the two offensive pass interference penalties on Metcalf were dicey at best. The final tally was 16 combined penalties for 143 yards.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.

Get Ad-Free >

Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz | Tim Benz Columns | Top Stories
Sports and Partner News