The Pittsburgh Steelers have seen impressive results out of their veteran free-agent acquisition, Russell Wilson. In his first three games of the 2024 season, the Steelers have seen consistent, effective offensive output for the first time since the Randy Fichtner era. Wilson himself has seen a career renaissance after a forgettable tenure with the Denver Broncos. There are many factors that play a role in this sudden resurgence. While there are plenty of reasons on the field as to why Wilson has returned to past form, there is also one off-field thing that has contributed.
Mike Sando of The Athletic brought up an issue with Wilson that fans saw a lot of during his time with the Broncos, but haven’t seen with the Steelers.
Obviously, Steeler Nation knows about Ciara, as well as plenty of other media outlets that Wilson has been a part of, but that hasn’t been his identity with the Steelers. At the end of the day, he plays football. If he wants to play anywhere near as long as he claims, he has to put the distractions aside and focus on being a quality quarterback. The celebrity meet-ups can come when he has free time in the offseason.
Steelers’ On-Field Adjustments To Help Wilson
For starters, the Steelers look just like the Seattle Seahawks did when he won a Super Bowl there, as many people have noted. They have a strong defense with a highly effective run game, which allows Wilson to succeed on some of these hard play action fakes. If he can get one-on-one coverage deep downfield with the box being stacked, he will take it all day every day.
It also helps to have physical freaks at receiver. George Pickens is the perfect receiver for Wilson’s moon balls. Just chuck it up to him and see what happens. It also helps to have a speed demon like Calvin Austin III that can blow right by single coverage if given the chance. It helps even more to have a head coach that doesn’t want you gone, as Mike Tomlin has complete faith in his veteran signal-caller, and it has done wonders for this team.
Steelers’ Bold Quarterback Moves: Russell Wilson & Justin Fields Shake-Up