Film Room: Evaluating Russell Wilson’s Steelers Debut

On Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills, we finally got our first real live action look at Russell Wilson in black and gold. The results were underwhelming, with the Steelers offense mostly unable to move the football through the air or ground, a theme that mostly continued even as the starters exited the game. After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin used the word “incomplete” when asked about how he evaluated Wilson’s performance, stating that there were significant pass protection issues which in part, led to their inability to convert on possession downs and sustain drives. Evaluating quarterbacks in shaky situations is difficult and for this reason, the position is just as hard to properly analyze as it is to play.

SN analyst Derrick Bell breaks down his thoughts on Wilson’s debut, detailing the good, bad and everything in between while trying to add the necessary context required for a performance like this. The video concludes with questions that need answered, the quarterback competition and his fit within Arthur Smith’s offense. Wilson, Justin Fields and the rest of the Steelers offense has one more preseason opportunity against the Detroit Lions this weekend to try and build some momentum heading into the regular season. Be sure to subscribe to the channel for more Steelers content.

Related: Mid-Preseason Steelers 2024 53-Man Roster Projection

Want more from Derrick, Alan Saunders and the rest of the Sports Now crew? Subscribe to SN+ to get the best coverage anywhere on the internet, plus all the best coverage from Pittsburgh Hockey Now and Pittsburgh Baseball Now with one subscription.

Steelers Now Youtube

Click to check out more from Derrick Bell and Alan Saunders on our YouTube page.

Mentioned In This Article: