You’re not a Pittsburgh Steeler until you beat the Baltimore Ravens, apparently.
Rookie Steelers linebacker Payton Wilson made sure he’s officially a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, doing so in rather spectacular fashion, too.
Midway through the fourth quarter, just three plays after Steelers QB Russell Wilson threw a bad interception in the end zone on third down in the red zone, Wilson made a rather jaw-dropping play.
In what appeared to be a 24-yard completion from Ravens QB Lamar Jackson to running back Justice Hill on a wheel route out of the backfield, Wilson never gave up on the play, ripping the ball out of Hill’s hands before going to the turf, recording an otherworldly interception that gave Pittsburgh the ball back.
Take a look at the absurd play from Wilson.
That is a remarkable play in a big spot from the 2024 third-round draft pick. He lost on the route but never gave up on the play, fighting to get back into phase and then playing through the hands in the air for the interception.
After the 18-16 win over the Ravens, Wilson explained how he made the play that changed the game.
“No, I wasn’t looking. I was chasing him on a wheel route. And like I said, I went under the pick route. So, I mean, once you go under a pick route, you’re in chase mode,” Wilson said, according to video via The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo on Twitter. “So, you just, once his hands go up, I played through his hands and the ball just happened to be there and I took it from him.
“Tried to give it to Mink[ah Fitzpatrick], but I think they said I was down.”
It was a remarkable play from Wilson. He lost early on the rep, giving up space to Hill on the wheel route. Jackson saw Hill had a step on Wilson and put a good ball on him, but Wilson made a better play, ripping the ball out in the air before coming to the ground, His first NFL interception turned the tide back in favor of the Steelers once again.
Throughout his rookie season that type of moment from Wilson hadn’t happened before Sunday. He has made quite a few tackles, but he’s had issues in coverage. Even though he technically lost in coverage on the play, he showed that never-quit attitude and fought until the end.
He was rewarded for it, too. Truly an absurd play from the NC State product and was eerily similar to an interception that former Steelers linebacker Devin Bush had against the Ravens.
Shortly after the Wilson INT, the Steelers kicked a field goal to make it an 18-10 game, with that field goal from Chris Boswell — his sixth of the day — ultimately being the difference for the Steelers.
The fact that it came thanks to an interception from Wilson in his first foray into Steelers-Ravens was rather fitting. It came in a matchup the Steelers had been hyping for him all last week, according to head coach Mike Tomlin.
“Man, we were talking all week, he and I, about his matchup with 43 [Justice Hill]. He’s a pass-situation linebacker, 43 is a pass-situation runner. He’s a young guy, he being Payton, and so we knew that they were gonna go at him. He needed to be prepared. We worked him all week in terms of that matchup, that rail route that he picked off the screen game that’s associated with it,” Tomlin said, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “Payton did a nice job preparing himself and not blinking and communicating in-game and understanding the urgency of that matchup.
“And I think that’s why he was successful. I think you create your fortune sometimes when you’re locked in and he was locked in, very cognizant of the challenge man, and rose up to meet it.”
Wilson certainly rose up to meet the challenge, and he came through in a big way. Without that interception, who knows how that game turns out for the Black and Gold. But in his first matchup against the Ravens, Wilson integrated himself smoothly into the rivalry and made a game-changing play that will live on for a long time in Steelers-Ravens history.
