Let Russ cook, indeed.

Russell Wilson picked apart the Cincinnati Bengals defense while leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 44-38 victory in Sunday's AFC North clash at Paycor Stadium. The veteran finished 29-of-38 passing for 414 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in a throwback performance that improved his first-place team's record to 9-3 overall and 6-1 in the last seven.

As for the Bengals, it was another abysmal performance from their defense as they fell to 4-8 with a third consecutive loss. Joe Burrow did what he could by going 28-of-38 for 309 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, but he also lost two fumbles, the second of which went for a scoop-and-score for Payton Wilson.

Wilson ultimately won the high-scoring duel and drew plenty of praise from social media:

Sunday felt like something of a last-stand opportunity for the Bengals, who were at home against their rivals before a stretch of three-straight games against opponents with losing records. That made getting off to a quick start all the more important, which is exactly what happened.

Cam Taylor-Britt opened the scoring with a pick-six of Wilson on Pittsburgh's first possession. It was a much-needed play for a defense that has consistently struggled this season, although it was anything but a sign of things to come.

Not even the pick-six and touchdowns from Chase Brown and Ja'Marr Chase were enough to give the Bengals the halftime lead, as Wilson bounced back with touchdown passes to George Pickens and Calvin Austin III.

Throw in Najee Harris scoring and T.J. Watt forcing a turnover with a strip-sack, and the Steelers built a 27-21 lead by intermission after a half that felt more like a Big 12 game than an NFL one. It was also more of the same for a Bengals team that has seen Burrow play at an MVP level just for the defense to be nonexistent.

It seemed like a blocked field goal for Cincinnati's special teams early in the third quarter might help change the game and overall narrative surrounding the team, but Wilson had other ideas when he unleashed a strike to Pat Freiermuth for a touchdown right before the fourth.

The 36-year-old Wilson looked like he was back in his peak as a nine-time Pro Bowler for the Seattle Seahawks, which put even more pressure on Burrow and Co. to keep pace.

They nearly did, as Burrow threw late touchdown passes to Tee Higgins and Andrei Iosivas in the fourth quarter to trim the deficit to six. However, Cincinnati was unable to recover the ensuing onside kick or stop Justin Fields on a third-down carry as the Steelers closed the door on the win.

With another division win in the books, Pittsburgh will now look to bounce back from an earlier loss to the Cleveland Browns in a rematch at home.