The Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback play in 2023 was abysmal. Despite this, the Steelers still made the playoffs and, even though the final score said otherwise, hung around with the Buffalo Bills for a little bit. The hope is that this year, with a revamped quarterback room, the Steelers can do more than just hang around for a little bit in the playoffs. One person who thinks the Steelers can make noise is LeSean McCoy.
McCoy was recently on FS1’s SPEAK! and argued that QB Russell Wilson should be able to help Pittsburgh make a deep playoff run, given how good the Steelers’ defense is.
“If you give Russ, if he did the same thing he did in Denver the second year, not the first, the second, they’re gonna do more than just win,” said McCoy. “I think they go deep in the playoffs with that. With that type of defense, the way they run the ball, they gonna play more defense, getting sacks, getting turnovers and all them type of things. You can win with that, actually, like going to the playoffs and getting some big wins, not the stuff Kenny [Pickett] was doing.”
Wilson’s tenure with the Denver Broncos was viewed as a massive failure. Wilson received a mega contract and ended up being released this offseason. However, looking at the stats (which admittedly do not tell the whole story) Wilson had a good year before being benched last year. Wilson threw for 3,070 yards and 26 touchdowns with only eight interceptions despite playing in only 15 games. Those numbers are much better than QB Kenny Pickett had last year.
As McCoy pointed out, the Steelers have a great defense, but too many times over the past few seasons, they have been left on the field for too long and eventually tired out. Additionally, they have not gotten help on the scoreboard, as the Steelers’ offense has finished 28th, 26th, and 21st in points per game in the last three seasons. Defensively, the Steelers have finished eighth, 10th, and 22nd in points per game the past three years.
While the Steelers’ defense was really good, especially the past two years, the problem is that there was little production from the quarterback position. Last year’s three quarterbacks, Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph, combined for 13 touchdowns. Wilson had double that last year.
If Pittsburgh’s defense is as good as it was last year, and Wilson can perform in the red zone and does not make crucial mistakes, the Steelers can make a deep run. They have a great rushing attack with running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, which helped the Steelers make the playoffs with a bad passing attack last year. With even an average passing game, Harris and Wilson should be even better.
Summer is the time for hope for every NFL team. Come September, things can change. But as McCoy said, if Wilson can play better than Pickett, the Steelers will be in a good place. The Steelers’ defense is strong, their run game is good, and with at least a decent passing game, there is no reason why the Steelers can’t make a playoff run.
