After skyrocketing up to No. 7 following an excellent game against the Cincinnati Bengals a few weeks ago, Pittsburgh Steelers Russell Wilson is tumbling down the NFL’s QB index.
He has fallen three spots in back-to-back weeks and is now outside the top 10 at No. 13, in an index put together by Nick Shook on NFL.com.
“Boy, did Wilson miss George Pickens against the Eagles. Philadelphia’s defense made life incredibly difficult for the Steelers’ offense early, and without Pickens, Wilson had no one to turn to in a moment of desperation,” Shook wrote. “The Steelers went three-and-out on four of their first five possessions. Wilson managed to help the offense find life after they adjusted their approach, but they were operating with a thin margin for error. It’s clear he needs Pickens to be at his best.”
The Steelers’ have had the 30th-ranked successful play rate on offense for the last two weeks without Pickens. Just 38.8 percent of their plays are successful with a similarly poor 4.2 yards per play overall. The offense hasn’t been the same without him.
Wilson had the two worst games of his season in back-to-back weeks without Pickens. He has 286 passing yards in the last two weeks combined, which he far exceeded against the Bengals alone just a few weeks ago.
Overall, Wilson is still having a good season. His ANY/A is still the second-best mark of his career at an impressive 7.46. He still has a TD:INT ratio of 13:3, and most importantly he has led the Steelers to a 6-2 record as a starter.
No. 13 in the index would, in theory, make him the second-worst quarterback in a 14-team playoff format, but there are multiple playoff teams with quarterbacks ranked below him at the moment. Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert, C.J. Stroud, and Bo Nix should all be in the tournament and are below Wilson.
The important part is that the Steelers don’t want to be on the decline as they enter the playoffs. They have three games to turn that around and make sure they are on the rise when the tournament starts. With Pickens out for at least one more game, that is going to be difficult to turn around Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens. There’s at least some optimism that he could return against the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas day.
