Correlation doesn’t always imply causation, but the Pittsburgh Steelers having their best offensive game of the season while starting the 13th-year veteran Russell Wilson certainly tracks. In Pittsburgh’s 37-15 win over the New York Jets, Wilson and the Steelers’ offense looked dangerous for the first time in a while.
One of the reasons for Pittsburgh’s offensive improvement was Wilson’s deep ball, which was on display time and time again last Sunday night.
New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll was particularly impressed with Wilson’s effective deep ball.
“When you can do that, it really helps out a football team,” said Daboll on The Coach Daboll Show on the Giants’ YouTube channel. “[George] Pickens made some nice plays. You know I have a lot of respect for Russell, getting to know him throughout the years in this league. He’s there for a reason, he’s a very good quarterback who can threaten the deep part of the field, and that changes everything for your offense.”
The deep ball did change everything for Pittsburgh as it led to the offense’s most complete game of the season. Wilson and the passing attack were on fire as the Steelers racked up 260 passings yards and two passing touchdowns. Meanwhile the rushing game took advantage of a defense that had to sit back worrying about deep passes as Pittsburgh ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns.
Some might argue that Justin Fields’ performance in the air against the Indianapolis Colts — he threw for 312 yards and a touchdown — was better than Wilson’s against the Jets, but overall Pittsburgh offense was better against the Jets. A big reason for that was that Wilson was able to threaten the Jets deep early, connecting on a deep shot to WR George Pickens early in the second quarter. which changed the game on offense for the Steelers. From that point on the Steelers’ rushing attack got going and their passing attack grounded the Jets.
With Wilson, teams can’t crowd the box because he and Pickens will eat on deep shots throughout the game. This will open the game up for running backs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. In turn, it will create a complete Steelers offense, something we haven’t seen since the “Killer Bs” days.
Now, Wilson has to show he can continuously hit on these deep throws and continue to play smart. If he can do that, the Steelers will have a good offense and defense for the first time in a long time.
