As we do every week to prepare you for our upcoming game, our X Factor of the Week. Sometimes it is a player, a unit, a concept or a plan. Here’s our Pittsburgh Steelers X-Factor of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

STEELERS VS BENGALS X-FACTOR: RUSSELL WILSON

The Pittsburgh Steelers conclude their 2024 regular season on Saturday, and in this game the team desperately needs a good performance. Pittsburgh has lost its last three games and a four-game losing streak heading into the playoffs certainly wouldn’t be ideal.

Luckily, the Bengals are a team that the Steelers have had some success against. The Steelers beat the Bengals earlier this year, winning 44-38 in Cincinnati. This game saw an offensive explosion led by QB Russell Wilson who got the offense going. The game didn’t even feel as close as the final score would suggest, as the Bengals only had one possession left in the final minutes.

At that point, the two teams were on a completely different path than they are today. Pittsburgh was riding high under Wilson and had a 9-3 record at the time. The Steelers have won just once since then, while the Bengals are playing on their own. Cincinnati is on a four-game winning streak and their playoff life depends on tonight’s performance.

Cincinnati had no answer for Wilson in the first matchup and, to be fair, they couldn’t stop most of the quarterbacks they’ve struggled with all year. Wilson had one of the best performances of his career, rushing for 414 yards through the air, completing 29 of 38 passes and three touchdowns.

The only blemish on Wilson’s stats was a pick-six early in the game, but even that was controversial. It was an all-around excellent performance and Pittsburgh needs Wilson to get back to that level. Cincinnati’s defense will certainly be less dangerous than the last three teams the Steelers have faced. The Bengals have given up 417 points this year, the fourth most in the NFL.

For Wilson, these are all signs that the game is going right. Whether the Steelers win or not, a strong performance from Wilson would really benefit them heading into the playoffs. Pittsburgh brought in Wilson to help them get to the next level and compete for the Super Bowl. That hasn’t seemed to be the case for a few weeks now, but a good performance from Wilson on Saturday could reignite those hopes.