The more things change, the more they stay they same. It’s 2024 and we’re still talking about quarterback and offensive line issues with the Pittsburgh Steelers despite the team overhauling both rooms and bringing in a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith. But after the team’s 9-3 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills where the offense didn’t have much of anything going for them and the offensive line was shaky at best and bad at worst, that’s where we sit.
Until Mike Tomlin says that Russell Wilson will 100%, absolutely, definitively be the team’s Week 1 starter, we’re going to have segments discussing who should start at quarterback for the Steelers on national TV. And this morning, Good Morning Football broke down the quarterback battle, with Akbar Gbajabiamila being the only panelist who believes that Wilson is the choice for the Steelers. He pointed to the offensive line play as making it tough on Wilson to show what he can do.
“Russ was 8-10, but yes he didn’t have a lot of the scoring and whatever and the rest that we’re used to seeing. But I will say this, that offensive line can’t block for nothing. I mean, they were after Russ, and Russ doesn’t have the same mobility that we saw in the past. So when you’re under this constant duress, it’s hard to show what you can do,” Gbajabiamila said.
Wilson took three sacks, which has been a problem for him throughout his whole career, but all three shouldn’t be blamed on him. Pittsburgh’s offensive line, Broderick Jones in particular, really struggled and Wilson just didn’t have time to make plays. On top of that, the sacks put Pittsburgh behind schedule and made it difficult to move the ball.
The offensive line is the bigger issue right now than the quarterback play, be it from Fields or Wilson, and because of that, I still think it’s pretty clear that Wilson will wind up being Pittsburgh’s starter. Fields didn’t go and set the world on fire either, with the case for him starting residing in his mobility. But we never really got the chance to see Wilson take a shot downfield or play the brand of football that he’s known for, and writing him off after one preseason game doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
We’ll see what winds up happening, but the biggest problem in Pittsburgh and the one that needs to be fixed is the offensive line play. That’s where the concerns should be right now, and not on the quarterback room. There’s enough talent in the room that the O-line should figure it out ahead of the regular season, but if they don’t, it’s going to be a long season for the Steelers.
