The Pittsburgh Steelers had an impressive offensive performance in Week 7 as they took down the New York Jets by a score of 37-15. Pittsburgh has scored nearly 70 points over their last two contests, which is pretty unheard for the franchise in recent years. The interesting part about that is the offense was led by two different guys in each of those games. Justin Fields led Pittsburgh to a 4-2 record to start the year, but Russell Wilson looked great in his first start against New York.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Russell Wilson drops back to pass during a Sunday Night Football game against the New York Jets.
Many were surprised when Head Coach Mike Tomlin decided to start Wilson after Fields led Pittsburgh to a great start to the year. It's strange to replace a 4-2 quarterback, but the decision proved to be the right one for Tomlin. Wilson won his first start in 2024, and the quarterback looked spectacular once he knocked the rust off. Oddly enough, Tomlin wouldn't commit to Wilson as the starter during his press conference on Tuesday, as the team takes on the New York Giants next.
"He's [Wilson] scheduled to take first-team reps when we begin tomorrow," Tomlin said. "We'll see where the week leads us."
Tomlin made this statement with a smile on his face, almost like he was just having fun with the media. Despite that, it is still a little bit strange to not just come out and say that Wilson is the starter moving forward. He is listed as the starter on the depth chart, as he has been all year, but considering how weird Pittsburgh's quarterback situation has been in 2024, one might think Tomlin would want to come out and clear the air.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Russell Wilson stands next to Head Coach Mike Tomlin during a game against the New York Jets in 2024.
Based off of the way Wilson played against the Jets, and Pittsburgh's desire to have him start from the beginning of the year, it shouldn't be hard for Tomlin to make it clear that he will be starting move forward. He made the situation even more murky when he was asked about Fields' status changing, and he refused to acknowledge it.
It was not a dumb question.
— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) October 22, 2024
I asked it b/c he was asked earlier about Fields' status changing and he quite literally in his answer said he "did not acknowledge" any change in Fields' status, which was ... odd.
So I followed up. https://t.co/P3NM6Df6hj
Fields has had a pretty clear change in his status - one that many fans were upset with originally. Tomlin told the NBC broadcast crew that he was just seeing what he had in Wilson, and that the job wasn't 100 percent Wilson's. The broadcasters said this during the game, which again makes it seem like both Fields and Wilson are still options moving forward.
Gene J. Puskar / ap photo
Steelers' Russell Wilson and Justin Fields talk while they get warmed up for camp.
Steelers' Mike Tomlin Has Not Made A Long-Term Decision At Quarterback
NFL insider Jay Glazer reported on the Steelers' quarterback situation Sunday morning. He and Tomlin are very close, and he said that Tomlin told him he was on his own in giving Wilson a chance to start in Week 7. Many in the organization didn't want to make this move. Tomlin told Glazer that he needed to see what he had in both quarterbacks in order to make a decision moving forward.
Wilson will probably start in Week 8, and then Tomlin will have a decision to make during the bye week. If Wilson has another game like he did against the Jets, the decision will be pretty easy for Tomlin. However, if he doesn't play well, things will get interesting at quarterback for the Steelers.
What do you think will happen throughout the rest of the year for the Steelers at quarterback? Let us know in the comments below!
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