There were two common prevailing thoughts about the Pittsburgh Steelers going into the 2024 NFL season. One, the back half of the schedule was going to be brutal—and it still is, to a degree. Two, the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh wasn’t going to work out. QB Russell Wilson’s best days were behind him, and Justin Fields just wasn’t good enough to be a starter in the NFL.
Fast-forward to Week 10, and that second thought is looking quite shaky. Fields started the first six games of the season due to Wilson’s calf injury and went 4-2. Then, head coach Mike Tomlin switched to Wilson, and Wilson is now 3-0 as the Steelers’ starter.
It’s enough for Rich Eisen to declare the takes that the plan would fail are wrong. He took a look at five NFL takes that have missed the mark so far this season, and the Steelers’ quarterback situation takes ranked fourth. Eisen acknowledged that Fields did what was needed to start the season, and Wilson’s been everything Tomlin hoped for since.
“He’s getting chunk plays and he’s seeing the field,” said Eisen. “And he’s not just dunkin’ and chuckin’, and he’s not breaking down as soon as the first read’s not there. The Russ of the last few years is gone.”
Wilson has certainly brought the Steelers’ offense to a whole new level in his three starts. The Steelers are averaging 30 points a game with Wilson under center. He’s throwing touchdowns at the third-highest rate of his career (7.1 percent of his throws result in a touchdown). And he’s averaging the most yards per attempt of his career (8.7).
So yes, the Russell Wilson everyone expected would show up in Pittsburgh, the Wilson who was unceremoniously dropped from Denver after a mammoth trade from the Seahawks, is not here right now.
And Eisen isn’t the only one acknowledging it. Even the notorious hater, Nick Wright, had good things to say about Wilson’s performance so far. Tomlin got a lot of flack for making a quarterback switch from Fields, who had won four of his first six games.
But Russell Wilson is proving that Mike Tomlin knows what he’s doing in 2024. And even Fields’ performance did, too. The Steelers have proved the doubters wrong so far. Now they’ve got the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday with an opportunity to prove even more doubters wrong.
Eisen said that Wilson is “smelting” in Pittsburgh. Steelers fans are hoping he’ll be able to forge even more victories the rest of the season.
