Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin tried to do some gamesmanship ahead of the Week 7 New York Jets contest.
He said on Friday, October 18 that he was ready to name a starting quarterback “but I’m just going to keep that in-house.”
A few moments later Steelers wide receiver George Pickens seemingly spilled the beans when speaking with the media.
“Yeah getting on the same page after practice throwing – more than usual because this is his [Russell Wilson] first start,” Pickens told ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
“Tomlin’s plans were foiled by Steelers wide receiver George Pickens, who let Tomlin’s decision slip out,” Michael Nania of Jets X-Factor wrote.
There Is Good News and Bad News With the Steelers QB Decision for the Jets
Pittsburgh is 4-2 through the first six games of the season. The starting quarterback for those contests had been Justin Fields.
Wilson was supposed to be the QB1 and had been in the “pole position” since the offseason but he suffered a calf injury. The injury had kept his status up in the air which opened the door for Fields.
The former Ohio State product hadn’t been lighting the world on fire, but he had proven to be a game manager with some elite mobility to boot. Plus the most important factor is they were winning games.
Now the Steelers appear to be making a quarterback change. Wilson hasn’t played in an NFL game in 10 months. He was benched at the end of his tenure with the Denver Broncos and he has yet to appear in a game this season for the Steelers.
Inherently there is going to be some rust for Wilson which should benefit the Jets. Where it hurts the Jets is Wilson’s passing ability. He is a far more accomplished passer of the football versus Fields.
One of the reasons the Steelers are making this quarterback change is to increase the ceiling of the offense. Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot explained that perspective on “Boy Green Daily” with me earlier this week.
It’s Time for the Jets Offense to Take the Ball
In this current era of Jets football, it’s always been about the defense.
How many points can they hold the opponent to win games? The Jets’ defense has been the backbone of the team’s success for the last three-plus years. It’s time for the Jets offense to carry its weight.
This week the Jets pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Las Vegas Raiders to acquire superstar wide receiver Davante Adams.
Now it’s time for the Jets to score points. For example, this week they play the Steelers.
Pittsburgh is only averaging 20.7 points per game in 2024. Those numbers were boosted by a season-high 32 points versus the Raiders in Week 6. If you put that outlier aside, the Steelers have averaged 18.4 points per game this season.
Regardless of what the Jets’ defense can do, can the Jets draw a line in the sand and just outscore their opponents?
It hasn’t happened a lot for the Jets in the 21st century but they are in the midst of a new era of Jets football. The starting quarterback is a four-time NFL MVP and a future Pro Football Hall of Famer. He is coming off of his best game of the season versus the Buffalo Bills.
It’s time for the Jets to take flight.
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