Steelers' Mike Tomlin Gives Strong Hint That The Team Is Russell Wilson's Moving Forward

The Pittsburgh Steelers captured a strong victory over the New York Jets on Sunday night by a score of 37-15. Pittsburgh seemed dominant in all three phases of the game, and the offense looked the best it has all season. This was a pivotal game in the 2024 season for Pittsburgh, as it was Russell Wilson's first start after Head Coach Mike Tomlin decided to bench Justin Fields after leading the team to a 4-2 start.

Pittsburgh's offense looked a bit disjointed to begin the game, but the group quickly gathered themselves. The offense scored four touchdowns on the night while recording over 400 total yards for just the second time during the 2024 season. Wilson starting was a huge talking point in the national media, and Tomlin gave his thoughts on the veteran's first performance in the black and gold during his post game press conference.

"I thought he, I thought he was excellent." Tomlin said. "I thought he got better as the game went on, man, but I'm not surprised by that. It's been a while since he has played some ball, but I thought he settled in and knocked the rust off and distributed the ball around and played well."

This is high praise from Tomlin. Even after some of Fields' best performances he never gave the younger quarterback such high praise. He seems sold on Wilson being his starting quarterback for the rest of the 2024 season. Both Fields and Wilson are only under contract through the end of the year, so the organization will have an interesting decision to make once the season wraps up.

Wilson was a bit shaky at the start of the game, as he missed some easy throws early and was even on the receiving end of some boos from the crowd at Acrisure Stadium. He bounced back and got into a rhythm as he finished the game with 264 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran in a touchdown and had a passer rating of 109. The offense seemed to be playing more free with Wilson running the show than when Fields was the starter.

Steelers' Wilson Elevated Those Around Him

A big concern while Fields was the starter in Pittsburgh was that the coaching staff didn't trust him to throw the ball, so the playbook wasn't as open. This isn't the case for Wilson as he unloaded multiple deep shots in the victory. Many believed Wilson would elevate the players around him, and he certainly did. George Pickens had his best game of the season as he hauled in five passes for 111 yards and a score, with two of the passes being deep shots.

Wilson got other players on the offense involved as well - Van Jefferson caught a touchdown, Pat Freiermuth had over 50 receiving yards, Darnell Washington caught four passes, and Calvin Austin III hauled in a 36-yard pass that really sealed the game. The running game also seemed to be improved as it produced 149 yards.

Many were against Wilson taking the starting spot from Fields, but it seems like it was the right move. The veteran quarterback will look to build on the success in Week 8 against the New York Giants.

What did you think of Wilson's performance? Did he lock up the starting quarterback job? Let us know in the comments below!

#SteelerNation