To say Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had a lot of scrutiny on him when the Steelers took to the field against the New York Jets on Sunday night was an understatement. He decided to insert QB Russell Wilson into the starting lineup. That meant Justin Fields, who was 4-2 as the Steelers’ starter, went to the bench.
But by all appearances, the move paid off. The Steelers overcame another slow start offensively and won going away 37-15. Wilson threw for two touchdowns, ran for another, and did not turn the ball over. He also set the franchise record for most passing yards in a debut.
However, not everyone is convinced that Wilson is the superior quarterback option for the Steelers.
“I thought it was a pretty easy game for Russell Wilson coming in,” said Hall of Fame and Super Bowl champion QB Kurt Warner on Tuesday’s episode of What The Football. “I felt like him and Justin Fields are kind of the same guy in terms of where they’re at in this stage in their career. Meaning that they don’t see the field extremely well in terms of being a pocket passer. They’re more about managing games, you know, getting completions… So it was just like a perfect scenario for the way this played out with the turnovers that the Jets gave them, the way they ran the football, and then a lot of man-to-man situations where it was drop back, throw it up, and some guys made some plays for them. So I’m not any more convinced now than I was going in that he can give them something specifically that Justin Fields can’t give them.”
At first blush, that seems crazy. The Steelers put up 37 points on a Jets defense that is considered one of the best in the league. The Steelers put up the most offensive yards they have so far this season. WR George Pickens had his best overall game of the season with five catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, his first of the season.
So how can Warner look at that and say that Wilson wasn’t convincing?
Well, as Warner says, most of the big plays Wilson had were him just giving a player a chance to make that big play. A number of the big catches by Pickens were adjustments to underthrown balls where he had to make a spectacular play.
Then there was this objectively insane catch against (literally)Isaiah Oliver.
difficult catch rating 💯 pic.twitter.com/zQbcrdZSUc
— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024
Highlight-reel-worthy stuff. But the truth of the matter is that Wilson underthrew Pickens, which necessitated the juggling act. So yes, Wilson allowed Pickens to make a play on the ball and reel it in. But a better throw results in a bigger gain.
And I think that’s what Warner is getting at. Russell Wilson let his receivers make plays, but he could have made better throws for even better plays.
But on the flip side, how often did we see Pickens unable to reel in passes from Fields? Those moon balls, while underthrown, allow Pickens to attack the ball and beat his defender. It requires Pickens to lock in, which is when he’s at his best.
I think this is why Tomlin wants to start Russell Wilson. He feels like he can trust Wilson to attack one-on-one coverages while avoiding big mistakes. As Mark Kaboly put it, Sunday night showed that Tomlin didn’t trust Fields to attack a defense as they did with Wilson.
Fields can absolutely make throws down the field. We’ve seen it even with the Steelers, and so has Warner. But Tomlin apparently feels much more comfortable allowing Russell Wilson to take shots than he does with Justin Fields.
At the end of the day, Tomlin being convinced is all the convincing that needs to be done.
You can watch the entire segment with Warner below:
