It’s been a roller-coaster season for Russell Wilson. His backup, Justin Fields, held the fort well in his absence (calf injury), so much so that some thought Wilson wouldn’t be thrust into the starting role when he returned. However, head coach Mike Tomlin rolled his dice on the veteran QB, who has since been performing exceptionally well. The comeback he wanted seems to be happening, and he is majorly thanking coach Tomlin for it.
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Wilson sat down with former Steelers coach Bill Cowher from NFL on CBS in his latest media appearance. He talked about how this season has been a nice return to form and how the Steelers, especially coach Tomlin, have treated him well since their very first phone call.
Wilson particularly appreciated the transparency Tomlin has shown during his time in Pittsburgh. And he knew from the beginning that the starting role was his.
“The best thing that coach Tomlin does is he is very honest internally,” Russ said. “For Justin and I, coach was very open to us about ‘hey listen, obviously Russell, you’re the guy right now’. So, I wasn’t concerned about it.”
“This year… I feel brand new.”
Steelers QB @DangeRussWilson sat down with @CowherCBS to talk about his first year in Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/EBUlwUtzpc
— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) December 8, 2024
Tomlin found himself in a tough situation. Wilson was always going to be the QB1, but he picked up a calf injury late in the preseason that caused him to miss the first six games. Fields would start and win the first three games of the season, which made pundits think that he earned the starting job. But Tomlin never showed his hand.
After a rocky next three games with Fields, the Steelers decided to make the quick switch to Wilson once he was healthy in Week 7. And they haven’t second-guessed the decision since. Pittsburgh is 6-1 since they made the change, securing their 18th straight winning season under Tomlin. It’s a testament to just how great of a coach he is. When the fans pleaded and argued for Fields, Tomlin stood strong and backed Wilson.
Russ went further in depth about his return to his star level this season, noting, “My first year in Denver I was hurt, playing through it, really fighting through pain. Then last year I felt like myself again. This year, though, I feel brand new.”
Russ does look brand new. He’s averaging the highest yards per pass attempt of his career at 8.7. He threw for over 400 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals last week and led them to a 44-38 shootout victory.
Times are good with Wilson in Pittsburgh right now. It will be interesting to see if they can carry this momentum into the playoffs. With +2200 odds to win the Super Bowl, nobody expects them to make a deep run in the postseason — making them a good dark horse candidate.
