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Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin thought Russell Wilson showed some leadership on the field but that the starting quarterback mirrored his team in not rising to the occasion in Saturday’s 28-14 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“It was like our play: It wasn’t good enough,” Tomlin told reporters after the game. “I just love the spirit in which he continued to fight, the way he led the group out of the locker room after the half. But certainly, none of us were good enough tonight.”
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Wilson went 20-of-29 for 270 yards and two touchdowns, numbers that are somewhat misleading. He had only 44 passing yards through the first half, by which point Pittsburgh trailed 21-0. A strong second half only counts for so much when the Steelers had to climb out of such a steep hole.
Wilson’s performance inevitably led fans to question both his future in Pittsburgh and overall now value now that he’ll be a free agent again.
“It’s truly been a blessing in my life,” the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback said. “It’s been one of the best years for me personally to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. Obviously, I hope I’m here and everything else. I trust God in whatever that is. It’s a special, special place. I know God brought me here for a reason. It gave me so much joy being here.”
A calf injury forced Wilson to miss the start of the regular season, and he didn’t take over as the starter until Week 7. Tomlin’s choice to elevate him was somewhat contentious since Pittsburgh was 4-2 with Justin Fields at the helm.
Early on, Wilson repaid his coach’s faith by providing a different dimension to the passing game with his downfield throwing. Over time, however, his production tailed off a bit and Saturday’s loss capped off the slide.
In total, Wilson appeared in 11 games during the regular season and threw for 2,482 yards, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions while adding two rushing touchdowns. Pittsburgh went 6-5 in the games he started to finish with a 10-7 record and earned the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs.
A month ago, the signs all pointed to Wilson returning to the Steel City with a sizable pay raise from his $1.2 million salary. It was hard to envision how the Steelers could plausibly upgrade at quarterback.
Now, the front office might be left to ask some difficult questions about the 36-year-old.
