The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the Baltimore Ravens 28-14 in Saturday’s AFC wild card contest. The loss was the Steelers’ fifth straight to end the season following a 10-3 start.
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Quarterback Russell Wilson has been heavily criticized during Pittsburgh’s skid. The Steelers’ offense averaged 14.2 points per game in the five-game losing streak, so he’s not completely absolved of responsibility for the negative results. However, to LeSean McCoy, Wilson is not the primary culprit for Pittsburgh coming up short against Baltimore.
The Steelers problem is not RUSS.. it’s defense , conservative playing calling on Offense, bad OLINE/NO RUNNING GAME.. it’s super lazy to blame everything on Russ
— LeSean Shady Mccoy (@CutonDime25) January 12, 2025
McCoy isn’t the first person to back Wilson amidst the Steelers’ end-of-season swoon. And shockingly, many of the commenters on his Twitter/X post shared his sentiment. Most of them directed their ire at head coach Mike Tomlin instead of Wilson.
I agree. The Russ hate is crazy.
— 2013 2020 2024 (@GridironTalk_) January 12, 2025
Been screaming this for weeks but apparently Russ is the easy target smdh
— Chubs (@Edwardboutique) January 12, 2025
So we blaming Tomlin? I feel like his style of offense has been bad for a long time.
— RC (@Real_629) January 12, 2025
His Name is Mike Tomlin there Lesean. You like Russ it’s respectful. But he needs to make plays and stop taking sacks. He is also to short
— Rieder79 (@rieder79) January 12, 2025
Because it starts at the top and if you watched any of the games in the current losing streak that would be easy to see.
— Johnny HammerSticks (@JooohnyG63) January 12, 2025
The head coach is the constant. Just saying…
— Jacovia (@ItsJacovia) January 12, 2025
Despite McCoy’s assertion, there are still plenty of doubters holding Wilson in their sights. A quick analysis of Pittsburgh’s numbers from the playoff defeat, though, shows McCoy is telling the truth.
Pittsburgh’s stats back LeSean McCoy’s statement
Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith did not dial up many deep throws in the first half of Saturday’s game. That – and Pittsburgh’s offensive fortunes – changed in the third quarter. Wilson completed five passes of 25-plus yards over the back half of the rivalry battle. His two touchdown strikes were long attempts that kept the Steelers in the game.
3️⃣ ➡️ 1️⃣1️⃣ for 6️⃣
: #PITvsBAL on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/sPGUKhICDb
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 12, 2025
.@DangeRussWilson GP for the tuddie
: #PITvsBAL on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/C6VZll6mC8
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 12, 2025
Pittsburgh also had no ground game to complement Wilson’s aerial attack. The Steelers averaged 2.6 yards per carry and accrued just 29 rushing yards versus the Ravens. On the other side of the ball, Pittsburgh’s defense allowed 247 rushing yards to Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry.
MR. DERRICK HENRY!!!!!!!!!!
Tune in on Prime!! pic.twitter.com/YDZs4YK3wB
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 12, 2025
In total, Baltimore’s offense recorded 404 yards on 68 non-punt plays. Their 6.8 yards-per-play average was on par with their regular season mark, which ranked as the second-best in NFL history. Essentially, the Steelers’ vaunted unit did nothing to slow the Ravens’ potent group.
Wilson completed 69% of his passes (20/29) for 270 yards and two touchdowns in a road playoff game. Is that an exceptional showing? No, but it’s certainly not a bad effort either. McCoy is right about him not being the biggest reason Pittsburgh’s year ended on Saturday night. And now that their campaign is over, the Steelers have a lot of soul searching to do this offseason.
