Russell Wilson’s Steelers debut was worth the wait.
A calf injury sidelined Wilson from Week 1, and Justin Fields was the team’s quarterback for the first six weeks of the season, but he was replaced before Sunday night’s game against the Jets. It took Wilson a little while to get going, but the Steelers scored on their final five offensive possessions and cruised to a 37-15 home victory.
Wilson completed 16-of-29 for 264 yards and two touchdowns, and the Steelers averaged a season-high 6.3 yards per play while connecting on four passing plays that covered at least 25 yards. did. It was a big change for a team that had 13 such plays in the first six weeks, and head coach Mike Tomlin showered his quarterback with praise after the game.
“I thought he was a great player,” Tomlin said via the team’s website. “I thought he was getting better as the game went on. But I’m not surprised by that. It’s been a while since he played ball, but he settled in, shed some rust, distributed the ball and did a good job.” I thought I made a play.”
Running back Najee Harris said Wilson made the offense “multidimensional” and shared his belief that having it at his disposal is “the way to go far in the playoffs.” There’s a long way to go to get to that point, but Sunday night showed what could be possible for Pittsburgh in the coming months.
