Kenny Pickett had the most efficient performance of his season in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ road win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Pickett posted season highs across the board against Cincinnati, including in completion percentage (72.3 percent).

Ben Roethlisberger watched his former team come away with a much-needed win on Sunday. He also kept a close watch on Pickett throughout the game, and he was pleased to see the second-year passer continue to take care of the football.

Roethlisberger was more impressed by just how assertive Pickett was in opening up the offense with downfield passes, which the former Steelers quarterback hopes to see more of over the remainder of the season.

"Just continue to take care of the ball because he's done a great job with that," Roethlisberger said on his "Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger" podcast. "So sometimes you get quarterbacks that like go on these long runs of no interceptions, and it's usually because they don't take a lot of chances. Like they see every throw before they throw it, it's usually a lot of short throws, or like if the deep ones there, it has to be a guy like wide open.

"I would say that Kenny was on that track a little bit until this last week, he was taking the shots. He looked like a guy going down the field. I love the way he played last week."

According to Pro Football Focus, Pickett attempted five passes that went for 20-plus yards in Week 12. He combined for five such pass attempts over the Steelers’ previous three games.

Pickett also completed a season-high four big-time throws against the Bengals, with two of them coming on third downs.

Pickett will next face an Arizona Cardinals team in Week 13 that has allowed a 101.3 passer rating this year.

Steelers vs. Cardinals broadcast map: Will you be able to watch on TV?

A look at the Week 13 broadcast map for the CBS afternoon slate featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals.