Former NFL head coach Red Ryan had a scorching hot take on Monday’s episode of Get Up. He thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers should bench Russell Wilson and insert Justin Fields back into the starting lineup.
“You should [be panicking],” Ryan said about the Steelers after their lopsided 27-13 loss the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. “They’re not as good as their record says they are. I mean, they really aren’t. He’s [Mike Tomlin’s] a great coach, don’t get me wrong, but ever since Russ took over – this is why I never… I liked Justin Fields better. The impact that Russ has had on the rushing game, they’re absolutely atrocious running the football now.
“Now, look, that was to be expected. You don’t have Justin Fields running the ball and things like that. But they are running at a 37-percent success rate, averaging an incredible 3.8 yards per carry over that eight-game span.”
The Steelers rushed for only 56 yards on 17 carries (3.3 average) against Philadelphia. Najee Harris mustered just 14 yards on six carries (2.3 average) and had a game-altering fumble. To say the least, it was a dreadful night for the Alabama product.
Fields does bring a different dimension in the run game, but Wilson is by far a better passer. The Steelers have also been without their top wideout in George Pickens the last two games, so it’s really no time to panic. The Steelers have also already clinched a playoff spot in the AFC.
The Steelers were 3 of 10 on third down, while the Eagles were an efficient 10 of 17 on third down. The Eagles out-gained the Steelers, 401-163, and out-possessed Pittsburgh, 39:52-20:08.
The Steelers struggled mightily on first and second down. The inability to set up manageable down and distances on third down really hindered Pittsburgh’s offense.
“In the first half, we had way too many third-and-longs,” Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson said after the game. “It’s hard to try to play winning football that way. We weren’t successful on first or second down. That’s why we had so many third-and-longs. We’ve got to be successful on first and second down to get positive plays. They did a good job. That’s a good football team. We have to tip our hats to them. They played way better than us tonight. It’s unacceptable how we played. I think we’ve got to be sharper. We’ve just got to stay the course and know that obviously we got a big week coming up. We’ve got to respond, and we’ve got to get ready to go. And that’s where our focus has to be.”
Prior to Steelers’ 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter, the Steelers were 0 for 5 on third down. The Steelers went 3 of 3 on the drive on third down, which included Pat Freiermuth’s 9-yard touchdown reception from Russell Wilson.
“We were able to get a first down, I think we had like five (straight) three-and-outs. Can’t win many games doing that. Freiermuth said when asked about what changed on the second-quarter touchdown drive.
Freiermuth thought it was all about a lack of execution.
“We just didn’t execute,” he said when asked about the Steelers rushing for only 56 yards on 17 carries (3.3 average). “We just shot ourselves in the foot too many times tonight. They really didn’t do anything special against us. We just didn’t execute for some reason, early on especially. We’ll get it fixed and go into Baltimore.”
There’s no doubt about it, it was a bad night South Philly, but there’s no need to bench Wilson. Not having Pickens is really the missing piece.