PITTSBURGH — Two days after his much-debated switch of starting quarterbacks, Mike Tomlin said he was not surprised by how Russell Wilson rebounded from a slow start to produce 31 unanswered points in Sunday night's victory against the New York Jets.

He was not surprised that Wilson — who was making his first appearance of the regular season — brought energy and proficiency to the passing game and produced the most points the Steelers have scored in four years.

What was surprising is that, unlike every previous week, Tomlin wasn't asked at his Tuesday news conference who will be the starting quarterback when the Steelers play the New York Giants on Monday.

OK, maybe at the end as a point of clarification.

But there should be no debate.

"I thought his experience was really evident," Tomlin said. "He was unmoved and unshaken by the lack of fluidity with the start. But I think that's kind of reflective of a guy that's done it at a high level for over a decade, a guy that's a world champion, a guy that's a 9- or 10-time Pro Bowler."

After completing just two of his first eight attempts and even hearing a smattering of boos in the first quarter, Wilson shook off whatever rust had accumulated from six weeks of inactivity to complete 14 of his next 21 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns.

Just as impressive, he was 10-of-13 for 163 yards and a touchdown when using play-action, something the Steelers do as frequently as any team in the league.

"He's just seen a lot in this game, and that's in his back pocket, just like his throwing abilities," Tomlin said. "And it gets you in and out of circumstances."

The Steelers' ability to be effective with play-action and be more proficient in the passing game will only help their run offense, which ranks eighth in the league. Granted, some of that ranking was built because of Justin Fields, who was fourth among all quarterbacks with 231 yards rushing before being replaced.

But, even without Fields, the Steelers ran for 149 yards against the Jets, their second-highest total of the season. Najee Harris had 102 yards on 21 rushes — only the second time in his career he's had back-to-back 100-yard games — but he's also displayed a surprising penchant for breaking off big runs.

He had a 34-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to set up a touchdown, his fifth run of at least 20 yards this season, fourth most in the league. But it hasn't been just this year. Harris had eight runs of 20+ yards in 2003, giving him 13 over the past 24 games.

Only Derrick Henry (15), Saquon Barkley (14), Jahmyr Gibbs (14) and James Conner (14) have more in that time.

"I think anybody who has a commitment to the running the football is going to wage a war of attrition," Tomlin said. "That's what happens when I see Derrick Henry break out late in games. Man, he's beat on people for an hour and a half, two hours, the dam eventually breaks."

And so it is with the 235-pound Harris: all five of his runs of at least 20 yards have come in the second half.

Not surprisingly, the Steelers have been at their best in the second half, offensively and defensively. They have scored 104 of their 161 points, or 64.5 percent, in the second half, which ranks second in the league. They have allowed the fewest second-half points in the league — 36-of-101, or 35.6 percent.

"I think we do a good job of identifying our issues in a game and I think we do a good job of organizing our thoughts in terms of how we choose to address them in-game," Tomlin said. "Often, halftime is the cleanest opportunity to get the bulk of that work done, but we don't wait until halftime. Adjustments and adapting to in-game circumstances is just a component of good football."

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