The NFL put together the Pittsburgh Steelers’ schedule in such a rather unpredictable way—but perhaps it’s one that is advantageous for their new quarterback, Russell Wilson. Dan Orlovsky argued on ESPN last night that Pittsburgh’s early schedule is conducive to him keeping his job for the season.
“I still believe it’s Russell Wilson’s job until he gives it away”, Orlovsky said. “The start of this season isn’t going to change that. You’re not playing a dynamic defense in Atlanta. Probably the best defense, at least in comparison to last year, you’ll see is in Week 4.
“I think if it’s a ‘Russell, it’s your job until you give it away’ type thing, it feels like for the start of the season it’s going to be his. Now if it’s open competition and Justin Fields is given a fair opportunity to win it, I would say the same thing. You’ve got a chance to make a lot of plays if you’re Justin Fields”.
While Wilson has “pole position” in May, head coach Mike Tomlin insists Fields will compete when the time is right. Of course, he never said that there will be an “open” competition, so it’s still hard to see Wilson losing. He would have to play rather poorly, and Fields rather well, to enter the year as a backup.
As a refresher, the Steelers open the season against the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, and Indianapolis Colts. None of them are powerhouses and three ranked in the bottom 10 in scoring allowed last season. The Broncos gave up the fourth-most yards, the Chargers fifth, the Colts ninth.
“Those four defenses to start the season, you can throw on all of them”, Mina Kimes said. “I expect to see that heavy play-action passing attack that you associate Arthur Smith with. And if Russell Wilson starts with the job, I think he should be able to retain it based on those opponents. I think it’s after that, things get trickier and potentially a chance for Justin Fields to make a move into the starting lineup”.
Of course, Wilson also needs to win games to keep his job, at least in winnable games. And the early portions of this schedule should feature winnable games. Only the Colts out of his group posted a non-losing record a year ago, going 9-8. Half of them fired their head coaches, and the Steelers employ one of them—Arthur Smith—as their offensive coordinator.
If Russell Wilson can step him and get the Steelers off to a 3-1 start while playing well, he should set himself up for a relatively calm season in terms of job security. That’s not how Mitch Trubisky began his tenure with the Steelers in 2022.
The Steelers lost three of his four starts to begin the season, and should have lost the fourth, as well. His own poor play was one of the principal reasons that they were doing so poorly. As a result, it forced Tomlin’s hand to make a change. I can’t envision Russell Wilson playing that poorly, so unlike Kenny Pickett, Justin Fields might want to find a comfortable spot on the bench. Perhaps one close to Danny Smith in case he can get on the kick return unit.
