When Steelers HC Mike Tomlin first plugged QB Russell Wilson into the starting lineup, he looked like a maverick genius. He bucked conventional wisdom and broke up the team’s momentum with Justin Fields, off to a 4-2 start. It seemed that all Wilson did was take what they already had, minus some athleticism, and elevate.
It worked out pretty well for most of the season, but the whole thing came crumbling down in the end. And Chris Simms saw teams catching up to the Steelers along the way, particularly up to Wilson. Speaking with Mike Florio on Pro Football Talk, he credits quarterback predictability for much of their failings.
“Once [defenses] figured out areas of the field and what Russell Wilson has tendencies to do when it comes to the drop-back passing game and all that, we saw it became big-time Strugglesville”, Simms said. “They did not look the same on the offensive side of the ball at the end of the year. And the passing game wasn’t that good”.
In his first seven starts, during which the Steelers went 6-1, Russell Wilson put up strong numbers. He went 138-of-213 passing for 1,784 yards with 12 touchdowns to 3 interceptions. During that time, he lost two fumbles but ran for a touchdown and had a 103.7 quarterback rating.
Over the final four games of the regular season, Wilson went 76-of-123 for 698 yards with four touchdowns to two interceptions and two more lost fumbles. His sack rate ballooned, and his quarterback rating dropped to 81.3. The Steelers saw strong statistical numbers out of him in their playoff loss, but they effectively came in garbage time. The Steelers were already down 21-0 before getting on the board. Because defenses knew what was coming.
“It was like, ‘Take away [George] Pickens, take away outside. He’s not gonna throw to [Pat] Freiermuth over the middle, and there are certain things he won’t do. Then we can hedge on that kind of attack from the Steelers’”, Simms said of how teams slowed Russell Wilson and the offense. “That hurt them down the stretch, I don’t think there’s any question about that”.
The problem is, how can you make a 36-year-old quarterback less predictable? It’s not as though these weren’t patterns already known about Russell Wilson from other stops along the way. He didn’t start developing these tendencies when he signed with the Steelers.
Quality of opponent matters, and it’s no surprise the Steelers played worse against tougher teams at the end of the year. Wilson also faced more pressure against those teams, and had less to work with, including George Pickens missing time. But is he going to be able to throw something new at defenses next year? I wouldn’t hold my breath, unless he gets some high-heeled cleats.
