For all the issues they had, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a chance to drive down the field and beat the Cincinnati Bengals last week. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get out of their own way. Russell Wilson’s play, in particular, was maddening. He didn’t have a good game in general, but that final drive was even uglier. One of the most frustrating plays saw Wilson scramble for only a few yards, staying in bounds for some reason and draining over 20 seconds off the clock. Ben Roethlisberger was confused about why Wilson made that decision.
“This week, late in that game, last drive of the game, Russ [Wilson] scrambles out to the right,” Roethlisberger said Monday on his podcast, Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger. “Russ kind of lowers his shoulder, tries to kind of run a guy over.
“In that situation, getting out of bounds is the most important thing. Get out of bounds and save the time. No one is gonna look at you and be like, ‘Oh, he’s soft. He got outta bounds.’ No, they’re gonna be like, ‘That’s a good smart play.'”
Roethlisberger is correct. No one would’ve faulted Wilson for getting out of bounds. Before that play, the Steelers were at their own 42 yard-line with 46 seconds remaining. It was first down, and no one was open. Wilson attempted to scramble to pick up some yards, and it looked like he could’ve scampered to the sideline, but instead, he lowered his shoulder against a defender.
That play cost the Steelers 22 precious seconds, and they only picked up three yards. It didn’t kill their hopes of winning but left them with little hope. They needed that time more than they needed that small amount of yardage.
Wilson took a sack on the following play, forcing the Steelers to burn their final timeout. Despite all of that, they still could’ve won the game. George Pickens got open down the sideline, but Wilson missed him. Overall, that final drive was a pitiful effort.
Wilson has demonstrated his commitment to the Steelers on the field before. However, this is the second time he’s really hurt them by making the wrong decision while running. In their loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Wilson opted not to slide on a run near the goal line, and he ended up fumbling. That shifted the momentum of that game to a place the Steelers couldn’t recover from.
Roethlisberger defended Wilson on that play, but it sounds like he’s less comfortable with the quarterback’s decision this week. A 13-year veteran, Wilson can’t make that mistake down the stretch.
Obviously, he wasn’t the only reason they lost, but Wilson has been a problem over this losing streak. He’s cooled off after his hot start to the season. This play is another example of the Steelers’ flaws holding them back.
