The Pittsburgh Steelers came out with one of the most surprising wins of the weekend as Pittsburgh was able to take down the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 3. This was a big win for the Steelers as it looked like the offense may have finally gotten on track after two rough performances to begin the year. This was also the first game played within the AFC North, which is important when it comes to playoff positioning at the end of the year. The Steelers were underdogs going into the game as the offense had seemed like a complete liability through the first two games, but the group woke up just in time.
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Steelers' Aaron Rodgers hands the ball off to Jaylen Warren during a home win over the Bengals in 2026.
The offense for the Steelers finally looked competent on Sunday, and that was in large part due to a good performance from quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the running game being on fire with Jaylen Warren leading the way. It was hard for the Cincinnati defense to get a stop on Pittsburgh, and the two times the Bengals did find a way to force a punt the Steelers wound up getting the ball back. One was a penalty for roughing the punter, and the other was a muffed punt that Pittsburgh recovered.
Pittsburgh definitely played well offensively, but there were other factors that went into the win. The special teams errors from Cincinnati helped in a big way, as did the strip-sack to seal the win. Bengals' star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence spoke to the media after the loss, and he didn't seem to give Pittsburgh much credit.
"You watched the game," Lawrence said. "You know what happened. I don't think it was anything special that they had going on."
The defensive lineman didn't want to give any credit to Pittsburgh, and he instead focused on the issues that the Bengals caused for themselves. This is a good point as the Steelers probably would not have won that game if it weren't for the two incidents on two separate punt plays, but there is also no denying that the defense for Cincinnati couldn't figure Pittsburgh out.
Ryan Meyer / Cincinnati Bengals
Bengals' star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence going through drill during phase two of offseason workouts on May 19, 2026.
The Bengals only forced two punts on the day, which shows just how well the offense for the Steelers played in the win. The group might have needed some help from penalties and turnovers, but there is no denying that the offense took a step in the right direction when taking on the Bengals. Lawrence was probably feeling salty after the loss so he didn't want to give any credit to Pittsburgh, but his side of the ball struggled to get the job done on Sunday.
It will be interesting to see if this kind of offensive performance from Pittsburgh is a fluke, or if this kind of success can be sustained going into Week 4 against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football.
Steelers Get Off To A Hot Start In The AFC North
Every team in the AFC North has played three games, and every team has a record of 2-1. That is a sign that the race in the division is going to be close, and winning the head-to-head matchups is going to be critical. Pittsburgh got off to a good start in that regard by taking down the Bengals, and the Steelers have a chance to get another quality win by taking down the Browns on Thursday. That would give the Steelers a decent start to the season as the team would be 3-1 with a 2-0 record within the division, which should set the franchise up for success throughout the rest of the year.
Pittsburgh has had trouble winning in Cleveland as of late, and there is always a bad taste surrounding the road games on Thursday Night Football within the division. Hopefully the Steelers can come out on the right side of this one.
What do you think about these comments from Lawrence after the game on Sunday? Let me know on X, @brogannoey!
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