Mike Tomlin made the big decision to start Russell Wilson over Justin Fields for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 7 matchup against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. The Steelers were 4-2 under Fields while Wilson nursed a calf strain, and Fields wasn’t exactly playing poorly out there, so this was a storyline worth watching all week.
It was a mostly ugly start for Russ, with boos coming from Steelers fans after an early field goal was followed by three consecutive three-and-outs. NBC kept panning to Justin Fields like they were expecting Tomlin to personally yank Wilson out of the game and reinsert Fields into the lineup.
And then the explosive plays started hitting. Wilson’s 2-of-8 start was a distant memory and George Pickens was playing out of his mind.
Russ goes deep to Pickens!
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📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/T45uu2uGMU— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024
GEORGE PICKENS HOW!?
📺: #NYJvsPIT on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/omj7bvk7Jx— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024
Russ. Pickens. SIX.
The @Steelers take advantage of the turnover.
📺: #NYJvsPIT on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/pBbbhXiRSy— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024
But Pickens wasn’t the only one getting in on the fun. Van Jefferson scored a touchdown that just about condemned the Jets to their fourth straight loss, all while his dad Shawn Jefferson was on the sidelines as New York’s receivers coach.
Wilson goes to Van Jefferson for another @Steelers TD!
📺: #NYJvsPIT on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/St3LA07Eql— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024
Earlier in the night, Pat Freiermuth showcased his catching skills.
It’s Pat Freiermuth’s turn to make a crazy catch for the @Steelers 😱
📺: #NYJvsPIT on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/mt4F6F2hSF— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2024
Wilson finished 16-of-29 for 264 yards, 2 touchdown passes, a rushing touchdown on a sneak, and just one sack taken despite the Steelers missing several starters (and backup centers) on the offensive line. Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers was 24-of-39 for 276 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions (although the second one was really a drop by Garrett Wilson), and 0 points after halftime. The Jets are 2-5 and nowhere close to matching the preseason hype of a Super Bowl contender.
We’ve seen Wilson and Rodgers do battle with the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers respectively, with the home team winning 100 percent of the time. That trend continued on Sunday night, and Wilson now has pulled the head-to-head score to a 5-5 tie.
Pittsburgh’s 37-15 win (after being down 15-6) is only the third win of 20+ points for the Steelers dating back to 2021. As for Wilson, it’s his first win of 20+ points since his final home start as a Seahawk, when Seattle hammered the Detroit Lions 51-29 in the penultimate week of the 2021 season. None of his 11 wins with the Denver Broncos was by more than 17 points, so this was his most lopsided victory since leaving Seattle in 2022.
The Steelers are 5-2 and face an eroding New York Giants team with an offense designed to be destroyed by Pittsburgh’s defense. It’s highly likely that Pittsburgh will be 6-2 entering its bye week, before a real gauntlet of division games (well, four gauntlet games and two against the Cleveland Browns), the Washington Commanders, and Kansas City Chiefs provide a real test for them.
There’s still a lot of season left, and while I can’t make the case that we saw vintage Russ against the Jets, he had enough functionality to keep his starting job. We may yet see one more Wilson postseason appearance if the Steelers can keep this up.
