Controversy surrounded the decision for the Pittsburgh Steelers to start quarterback Russell Wilson in place of Justin Fields when the former Super Bowl winner returned from injury.
Wilson didn’t impress during his previous stop with the Denver Broncos between 2022 and 2023, and Fields had the Steelers off to a 4-2 start. Two games in, Wilson kept the critics silent amid a 26-18 win over the New York Giants (2-6) on Monday despite a slow start.
Wilson only led the Steelers to field goals in a 9-9 first half, but he stretched the lead to 23-9 in the second half with a touchdown pass to cap a 9-play, 80-yard drive. He finished with 278 yards on 20-28 passing in his second start in return from a calf injury in training camp, and he aided the overall turnaround in the second half of Monday’s game.
“I just like the overall look of the group at halftime,” Tomlin said. “We acknowledged where we were and acknowledged we needed some plays to break this thing open, and we had a bunch of guys that wanted to be the reason why we were successful.”
Pittsburgh scored more than 25 points only once with Fields, which came against the Las Vegas Raiders in a 32-13 Week 6 victory. The Steelers notably had four short scoring drives in the game due to turnovers and a blocked punt.
Wilson, meanwhile, has led the Steelers to at least 26 points in both of his starts, including a season-high of 37 points against the New York Jets in Week 7. He went over 260 yards for the second-straight game, and he completed 71.4 percent of his passes on Monday and threw for a touchdown. Wilson also hasn’t thrown for an interception yet, and he had a passer rating of 109.0 or higher each time out.
Fields only eclipsed a rating higher than 97.3 once in six starts, and the Steelers offense mustered 18.4 points per game minus the 37-point outlier. He took care of the ball amid only one interception, but he only threw five touchdown passes but rushed for five, too.
Pittsburgh has also seen stronger rushing performances by running back Najee Harris since Wilson took over. Harris has had two games with over 100 yards since the change, while he only had one with Fields, albeit Fields has drastically more rushing yards per game than Wilson.
Fumbles might be dead even between Wilson and Fields before all is said and done. Fields fumbled four times but never lost one. Wilson already has one fumble in two games, and he lost it in the fourth quarter, which gave the Giants a chance to come back in a 1-score game.
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt took care of that with a forced fumble, and Steelers cornerback Beanie Bishop put the game away on the last Giants drive afterward. Wilson relied on the running attack to close out the game between the Giants turnovers.
“T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, I thought, … really provided some consistent pressure, particularly in the second half,” Tomlin said.
Watt lived in Giants quarterback Daniel Jones’ neighborhood all evening amid seven tackles, two sacks, and the fumble. Highsmith likewise got to Jones amid two sacks and four tackles.
Wilson and company will get a bye week to rest with a gauntlet around the corner that starts with the Washington Commanders (6-2) on Nov. 10. It doesn’t get easier with the Baltimore Ravens (5-3) twice, the Philadelphia Eagles (5-2), and the Kansas City Chiefs (6-0).
