It wasn’t the best day from a production standpoint for veteran quarterback Russell Wilson just one week after throwing for 414 yards, but in big spots on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback made big-time plays, leading the Steelers to a 27-14 win to move to 10-3.
One of those plays was a bullet to tight end Pat Freiermuth for a 20-yard touchdown, making it a 27-7 game late in the third quarter, which capped off a great drive for the Black and Gold.
After the game, Freiermuth spoke with NFL Network’s Sara Walsh and praised his quarterback for his play, not only on Sunday, but in recent weeks, too.
‘Russ is playing crazy. He’s putting it where the receivers can get it,” Freiermuth said of Wilson, according to video via Walsh’s Twitter page. “He is playing lights out. We gotta continue to work with him about that stuff. But man, he’s been throwing it to whoever’s open and the guys have been responding.”
Since stepping into the starting lineup for the Steelers in Week 7 against the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football, Wilson has been playing some great football.
Sometimes, it’s dominant like he was in Week 13 against the Bengals, throwing for more than 400 yards and three touchdowns, carving that defense up. Sometimes, it looks like it did on Sunday against the Browns, where he and the offense as a whole struggled early on before finding a groove in the second half and going on two touchdown drives in the third quarter to put the game away.
Within that settling offensively, Wilson started to make some big-time throws, including a great back-shoulder ball to veteran receiver Mike Williams for a gain of 22 yards, eventually leading to Freiermuth’s touchdown, as well as a 10-yard strike to Van Jefferson for a touchdown, giving the Steelers a two-score lead they’d never relinquish.
He also made a great 21-yard throw to Freiermuth on the move to convert a third down early in the Jefferson touchdown drive, looking like vintage Wilson in the process.
Right now, Wilson is playing great football. It’s not always pretty, but he has given the Steelers’ offense a significant boost, and on a day in which the Steelers were without their top weapon in George Pickens due to a hamstring injury, Wilson elevated himself in the second half to deliver the Steelers to victory.
Heck of a way to turn back the clock, silence some doubters and have the Steelers looking like a legitimate Super Bowl team in the process.
