Gerry Dulac: Russell Wilson has brought much more than leadership back to 9-3 Steelers

Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 3, 2024

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — Russell Wilson has brought more than the veteran leadership that has been missing from the Steelers quarterback position. He has re-introduced another missing element: the touchdown pass.

Wilson has thrown 10 touchdowns in six starts since becoming the starter, which is already more than Kenny Pickett threw in either of his two seasons as Pittsburgh's No. 1 quarterback. And he has brought the big pass play back to the offense.

Wilson threw three more touchdowns and passed for 414 yards in the Steelers' 44-38 victory in Cincinnati on Sunday. It was the third most passing yards in the NFL this season and most by a Steelers quarterback in six years.

Not only did he outduel quarterback Joe Burrow, the league's leading passer, but he matched every Bengals touchdown with one of his own until the Steelers (9-3) finally pulled away in the fourth quarter.

"I thought the best thing we did (Sunday) was respond to adversity," Wilson said. I thought we did a good job of scoring touchdowns and making plays."

Wilson is giving the Steelers the type of direction and experience they haven't had since Ben Roethlisberger. After the way they performed against the Bengals — generating 520 yards and 28 first downs — he showed they just might have an offense capable of winning games on their own down the stretch.

"Russ comes in, he got a lot of experience, and he's kind of motivating us and telling us certain things in the huddle," said running back Najee Harris. "We need that. The times I've been here, other than Ben, we really had younger quarterbacks with not a lot of experience of the game. I think that's the one thing Russ has — just that knowledge of the game, same thing it was with Ben."

Granted, it might be a good idea to remember the Bengals have allowed the most points in the AFC (340) and second most in the NFL behind Carolina. They have allowed at least 34 points six times this season.

But watching Wilson take control of the offense is something that has been missing since Roethlisberger retired.

A perfect example came in the fourth quarter when Wilson checked out of a play at the line of scrimmage on third-and-8, told several players to adjust their assignment, and hit receiver Van Jefferson for a 43-yard gain in the middle of the field.

It was Jefferson's only catch, but it showed Wilson was not hesitant to use any receiver at any point. Ten different players caught passes against the Bengals.

"He's always ready for those moments," said defensive end Cam Heyward. "Even when we used to play against Russ, Russ could dice up with the best of them. Having a guy like that on our sideline definitely brings a steady leader on that side of the ball."

At age 36, Wilson is having his best six-game start since the 2020 season, even though his 2024 season didn't begin until Week 7. He is averaging 271 yards and 1.7 touchdowns per game, ranks second in the league in yards per attempt (8.7) and fifth with a 104.3 passer rating.

What's more, 30 of his 187 pass attempts are for at least 20 yards, which is the best percentage in the league (16.04%). He had nine 20+ pass plays against the Bengals, two of which were touchdowns.

In the past two games, Wilson has completed 50 of 66 attempts (75.7%) for 684 yards and four touchdowns. He and Justin Fields have combined to throw 15 touchdowns this season, two more than the Steelers managed all of last season.

"I think what it means is we did a great job (Sunday), that's what it means," Wilson said. "It gives us a lot of momentum and everything else, but we have to use it for good. We have to be able to respond. We have to be better next week."

The Steelers have a chance to pad their division lead to two games on the Baltimore Ravens (8-5) with a victory Sunday against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium. That will be important with a three-game stretch of games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs after that.

"My time being here, we really didn't score many points," Harris said. "It would always be low-scoring games and struggling a lot. But I just think, when we really come together and we know what we're capable of, we can go far."