Rich Eisen Makes Bold Statement About Steelers' Russell Wilson After Exciting Week 13 Performance

The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off their highest scoring game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals, winning on the road 44-38. It was a long week for Steeler Nation as they waited 10 days for their next game and had to sit with a brutal loss to the Cleveland Browns in Week 12. The Bengals' offense has been hard to stop under Joe Burrow and wide receivers like Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. However, the defense has been Cincinnati's downfall this year and the Steelers took full advantage of that. Russell Wilson threw for his second career high of 414 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson was able to find 10 different offensive players to throw the ball to and led the Steelers up and down the field on many drives. For the second week in a row, the Steelers only have had to punt once in each game.

Each week, popular NFL analyst Rich Eisen has a segment on The Rich Eisen Show where statements are made and determined to either be a good point, hot take, or overreaction. Eisen was asked if Wilson being a top five quarterback since he took over as the Steelers' starter in Week 7 was an overreaction or not. After listing out some other quarterback names, Eisen did believe Wilson cracked the top five.

"I will say this is not an overreaction," Eisen said. "The throw he made, the play he made on the plus side of the field… Russ is in a seemingly muddy pocket and he stepped up to his right and instead of taking off, he lifted his head and he looked down field and he fired one to [Pat] Freiermuth for a touchdown. I thought to myself, 'That’s the Russ from Seattle that was cooking and becoming a Hall of Fame quarterback.'"

Wilson's 25-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth came late in the third quarter and put the Steelers up 34-24 against the Bengals. It was one of the most impressive plays by Wilson all season as the pocket wasn't the cleanest, but he got out of it just in time to throw on the move and hit Freiermuth for a touchdown. In previous weeks, Wilson was taking sacks on plays and didn't have the ability to extend them. Wilson's game against the Bengals was a big boost for the veteran as he only took two sacks.

When Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos, his two-year stint there wasn't anything memorable. A lot of people had Wilson written off and didn't believe in him anymore. All Wilson needed was a change of scenery and that's clearly been shown during his time in Pittsburgh. Wilson has been a leader to younger guys on the team and has thrown for 1,626 yards on the season. Wilson has said in Week 13's postgame press conference that he feels young still and not like he's 36-years-old. If Wilson continues to play like how he did with the Seattle Seahawks, Eisen believes the Steelers have a bright end of the season.

"That was the Russ that was cooking in Seattle, that was extending plays and making you feel like you cannot get him down on the ground. You can’t get him off the field," Eisen said. "This is a guy who’s going to lead the Steelers to the AFC North title and who knows how deep, certainly if the defense does what it has been doing."

Head Coach Mike Tomlin and Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith seemed like they had a game plan to start fast, and they did. This game was a shootout and if the Steelers' offense started slow like other weeks, the outcome likely would've been a lot different. Wilson will face the rest of the AFC North again, as well as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs in the final weeks of the season.

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The debate has been over for a while, but Week 13's game against the Bengals made it tremendously clear that Wilson is the guy that can get the Steelers far in the playoffs. The decision to switch from Justin Fields, who led the Steelers to a 4-2 start, was looked down upon by many Steelers fans as Fields was getting the job done and was younger. Wilson, who is on his 13th season in the NFL, didn't have the best two years in Denver, so fans weren't sure of his ability to come in and win games. Tomlin clearly knew who was going to win his team games and that's been shown since the decision was made before Week 7's matchup against the New York Jets.

Wilson has gone 5-1 as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback and has opened up the offensive playbook for Smith. Making a decision midseason that could potentially alter an already promising season was definitely a risk Tomlin was willing to make, but he has proved he made the right one and sits in the third spot in the AFC. The Steelers currently have over a 99% chance to make the playoffs, and a 70% chance to win the AFC North through 13 weeks.

Has Wilson truly been a top five quarterback in the league since he's started? Let us know in the comments below!

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