PITTSBURGH — Mason Rudolph and embattled receiver George Pickens connected for two long touchdowns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers kept their fading playoff hopes alive, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 34-11 on Saturday.

Rudolph, making his first start in two years in place of the injured Kenny Pickett and the ineffective Mitch Trubisky, hit Pickens for an 86-yard catch-and-run score on Pittsburgh’s second offensive snap. He found a streaking Pickens with a 66-yard rainbow in the third quarter as the Steelers (8-7) snapped a three-game skid.

Pickens caught four passes for 195 yards. Rudolph finished 17 of 27 for 290 yards as the Steelers put together their best offensive performance in years.

Jake Browning passed for 335 yards and a touchdown but also threw three interceptions the Steelers turned into points as Cincinnati (8-7) saw its three-game winning streak snapped. Pittsburgh raced to a 24-point halftime lead and cruised the rest of the way.

Pittsburgh’s 34 points were its most in a victory since 2020. The performance also likely silenced – for the moment – critics of Pickens, who has been scrutinized for his sometimes lackadaisical play.

Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin said the 22-year-old Pickens’ maturity remains a work in progress but refused to bench him. Pickens repaid that loyalty by showcasing the game-breaking talent that’s only been highlighted sporadically during his first two seasons, mostly because he plays on an offense that has struggled for years to move the ball with regularity.

For a few hours on the eve of Christmas Eve, all the negativity surrounding the Steelers during a late swoon that’s led to speculation Tomlin’s 17-year run could be coming to a close went away.

Scoring points in bunches for the first time in a long time will do that. The path for Pittsburgh to reach the playoffs remains complicated – and who knows what will happen at Seattle next week, when Pickett could be ready to return from right ankle surgery – but the Steelers’ first sweep of the Bengals since 2019 made it a little more navigable.

Rudolph, buried on the depth chart for the last two years, was decisive and dynamic, issues that have dogged whoever has happened to be behind center this season.

He hit Pickens on a slant, and the receiver displayed the speed and athleticism that made the Steelers so high on him before the 2022 draft. Pickens later added a diving 44-yard sideline grab that set up Chris Boswell’s 50-yard field goal at the halftime gun. It was Pittsburgh’s highest-scoring first half in more than three years.

Tee Higgins finished with five receptions for 140 yards and an 80-yard touchdown for the Bengals, but Browning’s miscues – an ill-advised heave into the end zone in the first quarter in which he seemed to be trying to throw the ball away, a tipped ball that ended up in the hands of Steelers safety Eric Rowe and a fourth-down incompletion in the end zone late in the first half – put his team into an early hole.

Browning fell to 3-2 as a starter in place of franchise QB Joe Burrow, who’s out for the season with a right wrist injury.

PATRIOTS: Two prospective starters didn’t make the trip to Denver with the rest of the Patriots and have been ruled out for their Christmas Eve matchup with the Broncos.

The Patriots ruled out offensive tackle Conor McDermott (concussion) and tight end Hunter Henry (knee) on Saturday afternoon. McDermott, who has started in place of left tackle Trent Brown in five of the six games he’s played this season, missed the week of practice in concussion protocol. Henry did not participate Wednesday or Thursday and was limited Friday in practice.

If McDermott and Brown, who remains questionable with ankle and hand injuries, cannot play Sunday night, then Vederian Lowe would be the top option to start. The Patriots also could activate Tyrone Wheatley Jr. off of injured reserve to start.

Pharaoh Brown and Mike Gesicki will take on greater roles with Henry out. The Patriots also could elevate Matt Sokol from the practice squad.

Running back Rhamondre Stevenson (ankle), wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and safety Jabrill Peppers (hamstring) were already ruled out on Friday.

JAGUARS: Quarterback Trevor Lawrence cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol and will travel with the team to Tampa Bay.

Lawrence is expected to start against the Buccaneers (7-7) on Sunday, a huge boost for the Jaguars (8-6) as they try to end a three-game losing streak and stay atop the AFC South.

Lawrence practiced Friday for the first time all week and was later cleared by team doctors and the league’s independent neurological consultant.

The Jaguars believe Lawrence sustained a head injury while scrambling up the middle on the team’s final drive in a 23-7 loss to Baltimore last weekend. He misfired on seven of his final eight passes after the hit, a stretch that raised concerns on the sideline about his health. Lawrence reported symptoms after the game.

CHIEFS: Kansas City will be missing three major contributors on offense because of injuries, and the Las Vegas Raiders expect to have Josh Jacobs back on the field, when the longtime AFC West rivals meet at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday.

The Chiefs ruled out embattled wide receiver Kadarius Toney with a hip injury, along with third-down back Jerick McKinnon because of a groin injury and left tackle Donovan Smith, who will miss his third consecutive game with a neck injury.

BEARS: Kicker Cairo Santos has signed a four-year contract extension that runs through the 2027 season.

The 32-year-old Santos is 27 for 29 on field goals and 24 for 26 on extra points heading into Sunday’s game against Arizona. He is 6 for 6 on field-goal attempts from 50-plus yards this season.

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