PITTSBURGH — Like the snow that fell in Cleveland on Thursday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ offense came on slowly in the loss to the Browns until a late spurt erased a 12-point deficit and nearly helped the Steelers escape Huntington Bank Field with a win.
Until two fourth-quarter touchdowns Thursday, the Russell Wilson-led offense, which ranks 30th in red zone touchdown percentage, failed to score a touchdown for 20 consecutive possessions over two games. The drought raised questions about the viability of a boom-or-bust unit led by a big-armed, nearly 36-year-old who was the fourth-most sacked quarterback a year ago.
Coach Mike Tomlin restored a healthy Wilson to the starting job six weeks ago not only because it was the spot he won in the offseason, but also because his penchant for throwing the deep ball could ignite the passing game in a way that Justin Fields had not and open up the run game even more.
For two games, that’s exactly what happened. Since then, though, the results with Wilson at quarterback have been consistently inconsistent. The Steelers enter Week 13 at 8-3, but a persisting trend of big plays coupled with sacks and stalled red zone trips create doubt that the team is capable of making a deep run in the playoffs, let alone be a true Super Bowl contender.
In the first two weeks of Wilson’s tenure as starter, the Steelers increased their scoring average from 20.7 points per game with Fields to 31.5 points and 298.3 yards of offense to 417.5. Wilson wasn’t perfect, but he sparked the Steelers with three passing touchdowns, one rushing score, no turnovers and five sacks, including just one in his debut against the New York Jets.
Recently, however, the offense — and Wilson — have shown signs of regression. The Steelers are averaging 21.6 points in their last three games, and they haven’t cracked 20 in the last two. Wilson has four touchdowns to two interceptions in that stretch, and he was sacked 11 times. Steelers quarterbacks have been sacked on 9.3% of pass plays this season, though that rate is up to 10.48% in the last three games, ranking at fifth-most and fourth-most in the league, respectively. A year ago, Steelers quarterbacks were sacked on just 6.36% of pass plays.
“It took us too long to warm up to the action,” Tomlin said of Cleveland’s three first-half sacks. “They brought it, and they brought it instantly early on.”
Though the Steelers scored 28 points in the win against the Commanders, Wilson completed just 9-of-21 attempts for 108 yards with three sacks, an interception and two touchdowns through three quarters. In that span, two chunk plays accounted for more than half of Wilson’s 108 yards — a 34-yard completion to receiver George Pickens on 2nd-and-20 and a 26-yard catch-and-run by running back Jaylen Warren. But in the fourth quarter of that game, Wilson was nearly flawless as he connected on 5-of-7 attempts for 87 yards with no sacks, no interceptions and a game-winning touchdown.
“I didn’t think it was our cleanest game in terms of efficiency,” offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said of the Commanders game. “I thought we were too boom-or-bust. But I thought the fourth quarter we started to wear them down. I thought we made plays in critical moments in the red zone and certainly on third down. … That’s why you’ve got to be sober-minded and really objective. … In a game like [against the Ravens], we need to play more efficient.”
The Steelers did the opposite in that case. Though they beat the Ravens, they didn’t score a touchdown on any of their four trips to the red zone, had an interception in the end zone and managed just nine points off three Ravens turnovers and two missed field goals. That game also marked the beginning of a seven-quarter touchdown drought that extended until the fourth quarter of the loss to the Browns. At the time, it matched the Jacksonville Jaguars for the longest active stretch without a touchdown.
And Wilson, while appearing efficient by completing 21-of-28 attempts for 270 yards, was again a boom-or-bust playmaker, most obviously when facing the Browns’ pass rush. Wilson was pressured on 15-of-33 dropbacks (45%), marking the highest rate of pressure he’s faced this season. Though he completed 60% of his attempts for 97 yards on such throws, he was also sacked four times.
The Steelers have the kind of quarterback problem for which there’s not an easy answer. Though Wilson has more big plays than Fields — 39 completions of at least 20 yards to 24 by Fields — the former Chicago Bears quarterback has been responsible for more red zone touchdowns with three passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns. Wilson, meanwhile, has four passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and an interception.
Fields also has a better red zone QBR (92.2) and completion percentage (57.1%) than Wilson (8.9 QBR, 34.6% completion percentage), but 90% of Wilson’s red zone drives have turned into points, while 83.8% of Fields’ finished with points. Of those drives, 40% of Wilson’s have been touchdowns versus 50% of Fields’ resulting in touchdowns.
While Wilson has still been more effective at moving the ball down the field, Fields has been more efficient in the red zone. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Steelers should make a wholesale change at quarterback, but it could signal the need to change how and when the Steelers deploy Fields.
The long-awaited Fields package made its debut against the Ravens and appeared again against the Browns. Though Fields played eight snaps Thursday night, only one was in the red zone, and it resulted in a 3-yard Warren touchdown. His snaps also included a 2-yard loss on fourth down, a pre-snap penalty, a fourth-quarter 30-yard run and a deep third-down incompletion to Pickens that turned into a mishit punt and a short field for the Browns.
Even the 30-yard run was something of a disappointment for Fields, who said he was “sick” he didn’t run for a touchdown and that he has to do a better job of staying warm on the sideline. Afterward, Fields admitted the inconsistent quarterback rotation affected his timing and rhythm.
“I think it does, but at the end of the day, that’s what my job is, so you can’t complain,” he said. “And like I said, anytime I get a chance and an opportunity to go on the field and help my team, I’m happy to do it.”
The Steelers still lead in the division after losing to the Browns, but with four more divisional games and a date with the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas, their hopes of earning their first home playoff game since 2020 and ending a playoff win drought extending to 2016 hinges on finding an efficient solution at quarterback.
Information from ESPN Research was used in this piece.
