The Pittsburgh Steelers are sitting at 6-2, and despite a tough second half of their schedule, they’re in a good position to make the playoffs. The offense has taken a step forward over the last two games with Russell Wilson under center, and former NFL QB Cam Newton thinks that Wilson is out to prove he can win without the famed Seattle “Legion of Boom” defense.
“It’s almost like Russell Wilson is fighting a monster that not a lot of people are mentioning. He’s on that Kobe [Bryant] win without Shaq [O’Neal] trajectory of his career,” Newton said on ESPN’s First Take today. “Russell wants to win without being labeled, ‘I didn’t need the Legion of Boom. I didn’t need Pete Carroll. I can do whatever.’ Now granted, there are a lot of similarities in the Legion of Boom and what Pittsburgh has created in the whole structure of the team. But for Russ, it’s more of him like, ‘I gotta prove I can do this on my own.'”
The good news in that analogy is that Bryant won two titles without O’Neal, but Newton is right that the Steelers’ current structure resembles what Seattle had during the Legion of Boom days. That Seattle team was built on a strong defense that featured like the likes of Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner. Despite Wilson elevating the offense, Pittsburgh’s calling card is its defense. With T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Steelers have stars all over their defense.
While Wilson got the credit he deserved for the Super Bowl he won with Seattle, when people think of that era the prevailing thought is the Legion of Boom and the Seahawks’ defense. At this point in his career, Wilson has already been written off due to his stint with the Denver Broncos, and not many people thought he had much of a future left as an NFL starting quarterback. If he’s able to win with the Steelers, it will change the narrative about him as a player and make him a surefire Hall of Famer instead of a borderline one.
It’s a tall task, and Newton is right that Wilson, who turns 36 at the end of the month, doesn’t have a lot of time left. His first two games in Pittsburgh have helped change some of the narrative around him, with even his biggest critic in Mark Schlereth praising Wilson for his play. If he’s able to get the Steelers over the hump to make some noise in the playoffs and maybe even win a Super Bowl, people are going to think of Wilson in an entirely different light, and he’ll have proven that he is indeed capable of winning on his own, with a ring on two different teams.
