Russell Wilson’s Pittsburgh Steelers debut did not start off hot. He did lead them to a field goal on their first drive in Week 7, but things were not pretty for the rest of the first quarter. After a string of poor throws, the Acrisure Stadium crowd actually began to boo Wilson. However, it seems like that may have been just what he needed.
“We had a great first drive,” Wilson said Friday on The Rich Eisen Show. “The second, third, fourth drive, we struggled a little bit. I think I threw a ball. I was supposed to hand it off, I threw a bubble [screen], and it wasn’t there, and I threw it in the dirt, said ‘Ah, shoot.’ Everybody started booing. I was like, All right, that woke me up a little bit. Here we go. Now it’s time to play some ball.'”
That was a low point for the Steelers against the New York Jets. They started out 0-of-4 on third down, and fans were eager to let Wilson know they were unhappy. The Steelers ended up falling behind 15-6, and it looked like the Jets were going to run them over.
However, a timely interception ended up giving the Steelers life. After looking awful for a quarter and a half, Wilson turned back the clock to close out the half. He began launching deep balls to George Pickens, resulting in either a huge gain or a defensive pass-interference call. Even though the Steelers were down, Wilson made sure they were not out.
It shouldn’t have surprised anyone that Wilson started slowly either. He was coming off a lingering calf injury, and he hadn’t played a regular-season game since last December. It’s honestly surprising that he caught on as fast as he did. Although his passes weren’t perfect, Wilson did give his receivers chances. That was enough to get the Steelers’ offense going.
Wilson’s veteran presence was on full display in his first start. A lesser player would have gotten down on themselves when the fans turned against them, but Wilson remained steady. He didn’t get angry or upset. Instead, he answered the challenge.
Justin Fields had the Steelers sitting at 4-2, and he didn’t look terrible. Many people believed turning to Wilson was the wrong move, but it seems like he’s intent on proving his doubters wrong. It was only one game, but Wilson faced adversity and didn’t blink. That’s something that Mike Tomlin, and fans, should appreciate. It’s good to hear Wilson has no hard feelings over being booed too. Considering the Steelers scored 37 points, it’s fair to say he deserved a little patience.
