The Pittsburgh Steelers could be the real deal this season – and a switch at quarterback seems to have paid off.
Coach Mike Tomlin’s decision to replace Justin Fields with Russell Wilson ahead of a Week 7 NFL match-up against the New York Jets was questioned at the time, especially as Fields had led his team to a 4-2 start.
Wilson, though, was proclaimed the team’s QB1 in training camp and was inactive over the first half-dozen games due to a calf injury.
When the former Super Bowl champion came off the injury report in October, he stepped straight into the Steelers team.
And with Wilson under center, Pittsburgh have continued their fine run of form.
The veteran QB threw two touchdowns in the 37-15 win against the Jets, and followed that up with another TD in the 26-18 win against the New York Giants.
Wilson’s toughest test to date came on Sunday, with a trip to Maryland to face the Washington Commanders.
In a tight game, he shook off his first interception in 11 months to hit trade-deadline pickup Mike Williams for a 32-yard touchdown with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
That was Wilson’s third TD of the game, and lifted Pittsburgh to a 28-27 comeback victory that moves them to 7-2 and top of the AFC North.
He became the first Steelers QB to throw three touchdowns since Ben Roethlisberger in December 2021 – but it was what happened in the dying moments of the game that won Wilson more plaudits.
With just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, and the Steelers facing a fourth-and-inches from the Commanders’ 48-yard-line, Wilson lined up the offense and got Washington to jump offside with a hard count.
Pittsburgh were obviously not going to run a play and risk giving Washington a chance at a shorter field – but the defense played right into their hands.
Wilson’s veteran experience effectively ended the game – and Peter Schrager believes that could be the difference for the Steelers this year.
“This was one of those where everything was going Washington’s way, and then the veteran quarterback did his thing,” Schrager said on Good Morning Football.
“Russell Wilson gets to this line and he has done this a thousand times before. He’s like, ‘I’m going to draw these guys offsides’. And the reaction of Russ… That’s the veteran leader.
“It’s not the deep passes, it’s not the rainbow plays, it’s that… That’s why Russell Wilson is the difference maker in Pittsburgh this year.
“They might have a special team.”
Off the back of a tight win against the Commanders, Pittsburgh take on the Baltimore Ravens in a huge Week 11 game that could decide AFC North.
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