The Pittsburgh Steelers finished the 2024 regular season on a brutal four-game losing streak, allowing the Baltimore Ravens to take the AFC North title and leaving Steelers fans questioning if this year is yet another rendition of the seemingly endless cycle of 9-8 and 10-7 seasons that end with a first-round playoff loss. It stings even more considering that just a month ago, the NFL world was praising Russell Wilson’s redemption story, the 13th-year veteran resurrecting his career in Pittsburgh while spearheading the best Steelers offense since the Killer B’s.
Now, some analysts are doubting that the Steelers will even re-sign Wilson this offseason, and some are even calling for Justin Fields to start Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC Wild Card game.
Former NFL lineman and coach Jeff Saturday disagrees with these sentiments. On Tuesday morning’s episode of First Take, Saturday defended Russell Wilson, who has come under fire with the Steelers struggling.
“I understand Russell Wilson has limitations, but Russell Wilson is not the reason that the Pittsburgh Steelers are losing games,” Saturday said. “His number one receiver had zero yards. He had one catch, zero yards, and I think was five drops. It was not Russell Wilson’s fault they couldn’t compete in that game. Russell Wilson has done everything he needs to do to continue to be their starter; they have to build around him. They need more explosive plays in the running game. And that includes backs that are more explosive. They need to have more explosive receivers to help alongside Pickens. [Wilson] has not done anything to lose the job of starting quarterback in Pittsburgh.”
Steelers fans want an explanation for this late-season collapse. They’re looking for people to blame, and unfortunately, there are a lot of people who could be blamed. When they suddenly go from their best four-game offensive stretch of the season to their worst, the most likely culprits would be the coaches and then the quarterback.
Russell Wilson’s undoubtedly played a lot worse during this skid, and I don’t need to trot out stats to tell you what you already know from watching. He’s holding onto the ball too long and taking avoidable sacks. He’s missing open receivers. He’s turning the ball over at pivotal moments, especially in the red zone. Is this frustrating collapse all his fault? Should we point fingers at Mike Tomlin, or offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, or the offensive line, or George Pickens and his immature antics?
I think it’s a little bit of everything, and I’m fairly confident that benching Russell Wilson for Justin Fields would not fix the underlying issues. The Steelers hit the 400-yard mark just once with Fields starting, and Wilson’s exceeded 400 yards three times this season. Additionally, Wilson faced a much more difficult schedule in the second half of the season, including three matchups in the last four weeks against teams that are top five in Super Bowl odds (Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs).
If anything, it’s too late in the season to once again switch back to Fields, as it would involve a complete reset of what the team has done since Week 7 (even if it’s looked ugly recently). During his weekly press conference on Monday, Mike Tomlin said that he’s open to using Fields more against the Ravens this week. It could be a good change of pace for a team that needs to get the run game going and mix things up schematically.
As for the future of Russell Wilson as the Steelers’ starter, a lot could depend on what happens Saturday night in Baltimore.
