The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t had much postseason success lately, and the team’s star talent on the defensive side of the ball with guys like Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt haven’t tasted playoff victory much or at all. QB Russell Wilson signed with the Steelers this offseason, and he’s been to two Super Bowls and won one. In an interview on Inside Training Camp Live with Marc Ross and Rhett Lewis, Wilson said he wants to win a Super Bowl for those guys, who “need to put a ring on their finger.”
“There’s only been so many quarterbacks in the world that have won Super Bowls. And the reality is, I’ve been fortunate to win one, been to two. And I think the best thing is that Coach [Mike] Tomlin’s been there, he’s won it,” Wilson said. “Lot of similarities in terms of how we think about the game, how we love the game, the process. Guys like T.J. Watt, they need to put a ring on their finger and Cam Heyward, they’re special players, Hall of Fame players, Minkah.”
Obviously, every team enters the season with the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl. Wilson said he wants to bring a winning mentality to Pittsburgh in order for the Steelers to separate themselves from the other teams in the league.
“There’s 31 other teams that are putting hard work in, and how are we gonna separate ourselves? How are we gonna do that? And so I think more importantly, the mentality that I want to bring every day, the mentality of what success looks like, the mentality of overcoming, the mentality that we’re never gonna blink in situations.”
Bringing in a quarterback with a winning pedigree who’s gotten it done on the game’s biggest stage is important. And the goal is for Wilson to bring more postseason success to Pittsburgh than it has had recently. It’s not going to be easy to even reach the playoffs, especially in a loaded AFC and especially in the AFC North, but the Steelers have the talent to make a playoff run this season.
The play of Wilson, assuming he’s QB1, will be a huge factor in the Steelers making and winning in the playoffs. Even with an offense that looks to lean on the run under Arthur Smith, quarterback play is paramount to NFL success. Wilson is going to have shoulder the load if Pittsburgh wants to win.
The defense should be good again, especially with Heyward and Fitzpatrick healthy and the latter able to return to more of the deep safety role in which he thrives. The Steelers also added Patrick Queen, and the defense is shaping up to be the best it has been in a few years. Watt said in an interview on Movin’ The Chains on SiriusXM that the team isn’t harping on its lack of playoff success. But at a certain point, it matters on a team level and on a personal level as he along with Heyward and Fitzpatrick look to make cases for the Hall of Fame.
On top of that, it’s frustrating to grind all season just to lose in the first round of the playoffs. It’s happened too often lately for the Steelers, and hopefully, that can change this season. Wilson knows how to win and knows how important it is to a team and city to win a Super Bowl. While it’s not easy, ideally he can push the Steelers into some postseason success in 2024.
