Say what you want about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ weapons in the pass game, but they didn’t look half bad during the Week 7 win against the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football. While the first six weeks proved why there was panic about the lack of a No. 2 receiver, Russell Wilson was able to elevate the group and at least give hope that receivers not named George Pickens can rebound down the stretch this season.
“[Russell Wilson] gets all those other guys involved,” said Steelers insider Mark Kaboly via 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show. “Now, all of a sudden, Van Jefferson looks decent. All of a sudden, Calvin Austin [III] looks decent. Now they’re gonna say, ‘Hey, I can catch this ball too. I can make plays.’
“[Pat] Freiermuth, Darnell Washington — all these guys are now thinking, ‘This ball could be coming to me and it’s going to be hitting me on the chest. I can be making plays here.’ Forget Pickens, we know what he can do. But those other three or four guys are now coming into play and all of a sudden they don’t look as bad as maybe they are.”
Wilson spread the ball around at a much better rate than Justin Fields was able to throughout the first six weeks. Wilson highlighted his best player with Pickens catching five passes for 111 yards and a touchdown, but he also utilized his role players.
Austin and Jefferson combined for three receptions, 51 yards, and a touchdown while the tight ends chipped in six receptions for 87 yards. Washington, who had seven receptions for 61 yards in all of his rookie season, had four receptions for 36 yards. He finally looks like a guy who can be a meaningful part of the passing game and the Steelers will be a better team for it.
Could they still use more talent in the receiver room? Of course they could, but it becomes less of a pressing issue when you have a quarterback who is capable of taking what the defense is giving him in the passing game and spreading the ball around. Keeping as many players engaged as possible only helps late in games because you never know who is going to need to step up to make the big play.
This was Wilson’s first start in 10 months. He was shaking off rust and clearly not in a rhythm until late in the first half. This is what the rusty version of Wilson was able to accomplish. How about when he is fully back in the swing of things and has more in-game experience with his playmakers?
It is finally starting to look like a real offense, and for the first time in a long time the passing game set up the run game. The Steelers were able to pass early and then ran well late when the Jets’ defense couldn’t just stack the tackle box on every play.
