With Wilson, Steelers are threat to win AFC

By Dale Lolley For the Observer-Reporter [email protected] There are many people eating a lot of crow after Russell Wilsons Steelers debut last weekend.

To be fair, those criticizing coach Mike Tomlins decision to go with Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowl player and former Super Bowl winner, hadnt seen him do much in a Steelers uniform.

He played a little in the preseason and hadnt played at all in the regular season.

But anyone who had been at the teams offseason practices or training camp could tell that Wilson is better at doing quarterback things than Justin Fields, who started the first six games, helping the team to a 4-2 start.

And then there is the national medias perception of Wilson.

For whatever reason, many have a blind spot when it comes to Wilson.

Theres a lot of vitriol thrown his way.

To be fair, he is a different guy.

He can be corny.

He does some different things, such as giving mock directions in a fake huddle while he was sidelined.

But whatever Wilson has done to get him to this point in his career, its worked.

Hes a likely Hall of Fame quarterback.

And hes still just 35 years old.

As expected, some of the things he can unlock in the Steelers offense were on display in a 37-15 win over the New York Jets.

He still throws a very catchable deep ball, showing deft touch on those passes.

Hes excellent in the red zone.

And he unlocked the Steelers play-action passing game.

The Steelers had five passing plays of 20 or more yards against the Jets, accounting for 158 yards.

The Steelers had 145 passing yards the previous week against the Las Vegas Raiders and were averaging 168 yards passing yards per game with Fields at quarterback.

Wilson threw two touchdown passes in the red zone and also scored on a 1-yard plunge as the Steelers scored four touchdowns from inside the New York 20.

And Wilson was 9 of 12 utilizing play-action passes, averaging 13.1 yards per attempt.

The Steelers had been averaging less than 5 yards per passing play on play-action.

It wasnt a perfect start.

He opened the game by completing only 2 of his first 8 passes, causing the boo birds at Accrisure Stadium to make an appearance.

There were even chants of We want Justin.

But those were gone about midway through the third quarter.

Its natural to want Fields to continue as the teams starter.

He 10 years younger than Wilson.

And hes talented.

But Wilson gives the Steelers a better chance to win now in what is a watered-down AFC.

This isnt to say there wont be some additional bumps in the road.

But everyone who pointed to what happened with Wilson in Denver was being a little unfair.

First, Denver hasnt made the playoffs since 2015.

The Broncos dont have a lot of offensive talent.

Despite that, after a disastrous 2022 season with Nathaniel Hackett running things hes been fired twice in the past 18 months, first by Denver and then replaced as offensive coordinator of the Jets Wilson didnt fit with coach Sean Paytons scheme.

Despite that, he threw 26 touchdown passes with 8 interceptions in 15 games last season.

Hes nothing close to washed up as some in the national media would have you believe.

He showed that last Sunday night.

Wilson doesnt need to be Patrick Mahomes.

He just needs to continue to put the ball where it needs to go.

If he does that, the Steelers can compete for the AFC championship.

This weeks games Giants (plus 612) at Steelers: New Yorks offensive line is a mess with left tackle Andrew Thomas sidelined.

And quarterback Daniel Jones was benched last week.

But the Giants pass rush is very good.

The run defense? Not so much, allowing 5.2 yards per carry.

But will the Steelers win by nearly a touchdown? It is Monday night at home.

And the Steelers dont lose on Monday nights at home.

Take the Steelers, 24-10.

Ravens (minus 812) at Browns: The Ravens have the leagues No.

1 offense.

The Browns are the only team in the league that has yet to score at least 20 points in a game.

Could Cleveland have a fire sale after this one? You bet.

Everything goes, except Deshaun Watson, who wont play after rupturing his Achilles tendon last week.

Take the Ravens, 34-17.

Eagles (plus 3) at Bengals: This tells you where the Eagles are.

Things havent looked good this season, but theyre coming off a 28-3 win last week over the Giants and are underdogs at 3-4 Cincinnati.

Not sure how the Bengals will stop Saquon Barkley.

Not sure how the Eagles will stop Joe Burrow.

But left tackle Orlando Brown is out for the Bengals.

Take Philadelphia, 27-24.

Packers (minus 4) at Jaguars: The Jaguars just spent two weeks in London and come back to the U.S.

Its a home game, but they might be dragging a bit.

And their pass defense is awful, which isnt good news against Jordan Love.

Take the Packers, 34-20.

Bears (minus 212) at Commanders: The Commanders have been one of the best stories in the NFL with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

But hes dealing with a rib injury that could force Marcus Mariota into the starting lineup.

That doesnt bode well for Washington.

Take the Bears, 24-17.

Last Week: 2-3 ATS, 3-2 straight up Overall: 20-15 ATS; 23-12 straight up Dale Lolley hosts The Drive on Steelers Nation Radio and writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter..

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