Russell Wilson once looked like he would be a great fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers some years ago. They are still hoping that he can look the part in 2024, however. While he struggled to make it work in Denver the last two years, James Jones believes he will succeed—indeed, thrive—with the Steelers. Part of that is because of Mike Tomlin and the stability and makeup of the organization and roster.
“This man has not had a losing season”, Jones pointed out on the Speak program yesterday. He referenced “better” teams his co-hosts mentioned such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, pointing out Russell Wilson beat them with the Broncos last year.
“And all them teams that y’all saying probably was better than them boys on paper. Was definitely better than them boys at the quarterback spot”, Jones said, noting that Tomlin still finds ways to win. “I know you brought up the 18 points a game. If Russell Wilson was on that team last year by just the way he played in Denver, all the short fields and the turnovers that the defense gave them, they would’ve averaged 30 points”.
The Steelers finished the season scoring 18.1 points per game, while the Broncos averaged 21.0. His own points-per-game average in games he started is a bit higher, but nowhere near 30. In fact, the highest he ever reached was in 2020, averaging 28.7 points per game with the Seattle Seahawks. They averaged as low as 22.1 points per game in 2016.
Russell Wilson’s numbers and record were awful in Denver in 2022 under Nathaniel Hackett. While they still posted a losing record in 2023, the offense improved with Sean Payton. James Jones doesn’t think it was all about the offensive guru, however.
“It don’t have to be no Sean Payton. I’m saying in this Steelers offense, when you are getting turnovers and you’re starting at the 30-yard line to go score some points, Russ is gonna score”, he said. “This offense looked terrible under Kenny Pickett”.
James fails to mention former Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who shares much of the blame. While I agree that Payton’s impact was exaggerated, his suggestion of 30 points per game is absurd. Nobody in the NFL has averaged that in the past two seasons. The Steelers never have in their history.
Last season, the Steelers’ quarterbacks went 326-for-505 passing collectively 3,421 yards. They totaled 13 touchdown passes to nine interceptions, averaging 6.8 yards per attempt. In 15 games with the Broncos, Russell Wilson went 297-for-447 for 3,070 yards with 26 touchdowns to 8 interceptions.
Many buy into the idea that if you just place that Russell Wilson onto this Steelers team, they will be much better. But that assumes, for one thing, that the Steelers get that Russell Wilson. They could get the one from the year before. Or perhaps they could get one who is even better.
But either way, they aren’t coming close to scoring 30 points per game.
