Thanks to a 414-yard performance with three touchdowns in a 44-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB Russell Wilson is the talk of the NFL coming out of the Week 13 slate of action Sunday.
The 414-yard mark was the second-highest of his career, too, behind only the 452-yard performance he had in 2017 in Seattle against the Houston Texans.
It wasn’t just moon balls on Sunday against the Bengals, either. Wilson showed he’s growing and evolving within the Steelers’ offense under Arthur Smith, taking advantage of space within the middle of the field and creating plays out of structure, too. He looked like vintage Russell Wilson, which has former NFL offensive lineman and FS1 analyst Mark Schlereth — a major critic of Wilson over the past few years — tipping his cap to the veteran quarterback.
Appearing on FS1’s Breakfast Ball Monday morning, Schlereth praised Wilson and believes he’s “back to being great” at the quarterback position, which gives the Steelers a massive boost moving forward.
“Get these numbers. Russell Wilson was 29-of-38 for 414 yards, three TDs. Russ is back to being great,” Schlereth said of Wilson, according to video via FS1.
For one week at least, Wilson was great. Truly great. Yes, the Bengals’ defense is among the worst in the league, but Wilson diced up Cincinnati’s defense drive after drive. The Bengals had no answer for the passing game. The Steelers let Russ cook.
It turned out to be a five-course meal for the Steelers’ offense, which racked up 509 yards of total offense and put up 37 of the 44 points on the afternoon.
In the performance against the Bengals, Wilson showed that he’s continuing to evolve within the offense and is really settling in nicely. Previously, Wilson wouldn’t utilize the middle of the field much. Everything was outside the numbers and deep, more often than not.
But on Sunday, it was a balanced passing game as the Steelers attacked high, low, outside the numbers, up the seam, in the middle of the hashmarks — everywhere. That performance alone and the way it looked has Schlereth really impressed, which is noteworthy after all the hate and vitriol Schlereth spewed towards Wilson this offseason after failing in Denver.
“So for me, Russell Wilson, what he has been able to do, not only accepting kind of where he was owning that stuff, playing exceptional football early and continuing to grow in this offense, I just again, have to tip my cap because I didn’t think it was possible. And he is playing exceptional football,” Schlereth said of Wilson.
The questions were abundant regarding Wilson entering the 2024 season, especially after his struggles in Denver. Many believed he was closer to the end of his career than ever before, and that he wasn’t a starting quarterback in the league at this point.
But in six games with the Steelers, Wilson has been quite good and turned back the clock. He’s in a system that’s playing to his strengths under Smith, is thriving in a leadership role and has really evolved his game to fit what is asked of him now at this point in his career.
Those adjustments have helped unlock a new part of Wilson’s game and given the Steelers a significant boost offensively as they’re rolling along and look like one of the best teams in the NFL.
