The 2023 version of the Pittsburgh Steelers were lacking leadership on the offensive side of the ball. Thankfully they gained a seasoned veteran at quarterback in Russell Wilson who can help fill that void. Many of his teammates have raved about his leadership since the moment he signed with the team. Calvin Austin III specifically spoke about how Wilson will text players after practice to praise them for things, and he was good at bringing teammates together in the offseason for work leading up to camp.
All that stuff is great, but leadership is a bit easier when the stakes are low. It is still the preseason, so the stakes aren’t exactly high, but the Steelers’ offense has faced adversity throughout the first two preseason games.
They are getting a taste of some of the negative media that comes along with the first-team offense putting up zero points in eight drives. Wilson got five drives against the Bills. Not only did the Steelers not score, they netted just 34 yards of offense. With Wilson starting on Saturday against the Detroit Lions, this will be his first opportunity to show his teammates how he responds to adversity.
“He needs to show poise [and] leadership within the pocket, right? When those other 10 guys are in the huddle, they need to believe in the play caller. And that’s what it’s about,” Bart Scott said on ESPN’s Get Up this morning. “Because you got two quarterbacks that doesn’t have any sweat equity with the organization…Nobody knows what happens when adversity hits. Will he be able to calm the storm down? That’s what it’s about being a leader and what it’s about being a quarterback of an NFL football team.”
You learn the most about leaders in hard times, not good times. Wilson needs to respond to some of the adversity and elevate the offense against the Lions to earn some of that “sweat equity” that Bart Scott was talking about.
There is also the specter of Justin Fields waiting in the wings as the No. 2 QB. Fields built up a lot of rapport with the offense throughout training camp while Wilson was mostly unable to practice. That adds additional pressure to Wilson’s situation, one he needs to navigate gracefully. So far, so good, but adversity can change things.
What happens when the Steelers have lost three-straight games like they did last season in December? That is when leadership matters most.
