The Pittsburgh Steelers are reeling off of a win against the Washington Commanders. The game featured the Steelers down by 10 points before closing the game on a 14-3 run. Russell Wilson capped his performance with a 32-yard game-winning touchdown pass to achieve a rare feat for the Steelers.
According to Scott Kacsmar in an X (formerly Twitter) post, Wilson’s victory in a game where the defense allowed 27 points put his number of wins very close to both Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin.
#Steelers Record in road games where opponent scored 27+ points
Ben Roethlisberger: 3-28
Russell Wilson (PIT): 1-0
Mike Tomlin: 2-35 before SundayI'm shocked.
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) November 13, 2024
This is indeed a rather jaw-dropping statistic. Roethlisberger throughout his career had been involved in some high-scoring affairs and lifting his team to fourth-quarter come-from-behind victories. However, this statistic shows how important defense is in Pittsburgh. Here are the four games Roethlisberger (and Tomlin*) pulled away with victories when the defense allowed 27 or more points on the road:
2004 NYG 33-30 W
2013 GB 38-31 W*
2018 TB 30-27 W*
Wilson, who has only been the starter for three games, did this is his first game facing this scenario with the Steelers. Going into the season, the general expectation was Wilson would probably provide average quarterback play; something better than they have had the past two seasons.
However, Wilson has made plays that are above average for quarterbacks. Certainly, you can see that he doesn’t move like he did 10 years ago. However, the moon-balls have just enough juice on them to be… DangerRuss… It wasn’t that long ago that there were a lot of questions on whether Tomlin was making the right decision to go with Wilson over a 4-2 Justin Fields.
In his three games, Wilson has thrown for six touchdowns, 737 yards, and has guided the Steelers to 30.3 points per game. It is safe to say Wilson and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith have been a match made in heaven. The Steelers’ ground game continues to be effective, allowing Wilson to take advantage of available shots downfield.
The Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens in a match that will determine control of the AFC North until potentially their rematch in December. The Ravens bring a distinction of the best rush yards allowed per game but worst passing yards allowed per game. Wilson has previously faced the Ravens three times in his career throwing for six touchdowns and 722 yards in those contests.