Mike Hilton sees 'changing of the guard' in Steelers-Bengals rivalry

CINCINNATI — It took until late in his fourth NFL season for Mike Hilton to experience a loss in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ series with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Even though Hilton has switched sides in the AFC North rivalry, he has continued to make sure he stays on the winning end.

Hilton’s 24-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the first half Sunday was a back-breaking moment in the Bengals’ 41-10 victory at Paul Brown Stadium that ran their winning streak against their Ohio River rivals to three games.

It’s the longest string of wins for the Bengals against the Steelers since they won six in a row from 1988-90. Until this streak, they had lost 11 in a row in the series.

“Beating these guys twice and for some of these guys three times, it’s a big changing of the guard, in our opinion,” Hilton said. “It’s giving us a lot of confidence. Guys are excited to see how the rest of the season plays out.”

The win improved the Bengals to 7-4 while dropping the Steelers to 5-5-1 entering December. In the previous two seasons, the Bengals combined to win six games.

That didn’t stop Hilton from signing a four-year, $24 million contract with the Bengals, whose last winning season was 2015 and who haven’t finished higher than fourth in the division since 2017.

“When I came here, I came here on a mission,” Hilton said. “It was to help turn this team around. It was to build this team up, and we’re taking the right strides. I like where we’re heading.”

The Bengals got a big dose of confidence when they went to Baltimore in October and beat the Ravens, 41-17. That was followed, however, by back-to-back losses, starting with a humbling 35-31 decision to the one-win New York Jets.

But after returning from their bye, the Bengals have put up 32 points on the Las Vegas Raiders and 41 on the Steelers.

“Everyone has bought into what we’re doing right now,” said Bengals running back Joe Mixon, who gashed the Steelers for a career-high 165 yards and two touchdowns. “This was just another team in our way to where we want to go. Everyone knows what is in front of us. We have to do things the right way, come in each and every week and get better.”

The Bengals never trailed against the Steelers, scoring a touchdown on their opening possession and turning a Ben Roethlisberger interception into a field goal. Even when quarterback Joe Burrow threw an interception deep in Steelers territory late in the first half with the Bengals leading 24-3, they turned to Hilton for the answer.

Hilton stepped in front of a pass intended for James Washington and wasn’t touched on his way to the end zone. It pushed the lead to 28 points.

Hilton said it was his first interception return for a touchdown at any level of football.

“To do it against those guys in a big division game couldn’t be any sweeter,” he said.

While the Bengals won’t get to face the Steelers again, they are in position to compete for the AFC North title and have division games remaining with the Ravens and Cleveland Browns.

“We have higher aspirations than beating the Steelers right now,” Burrow said. “We’re excited about where we’re at, but we’re not satisfied.”