The Pittsburgh Steelers took full advantage of Week 8 in the 2024 NFL season. They watched the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals lose on Sunday, while taking care of business against the New York Giants on Monday night. Pittsburgh now enters their bye week near the top of the standings in the AFC, and as the firm leaders in the AFC North. Once Pittsburgh returns from their bye week, they will have quite the gauntlet of games, but Russell Wilson seems like the right guy to lead the offense through it.
The Steelers are coming off of two impressive victories in Wilson's first two starts. The veteran quarterback has lifted the offense to another level, which has elevated the play of everyone surrounding him. Pittsburgh is now 6-2 and they have a one-game lead on the Ravens, and a three-game lead on the Bengals in the AFC North. They would also be the three-seed in the AFC playoffs if the season ended today. Wilson made sure to point out during his postgame press conference that the team's current record doesn't matter, and they are worried about what is in front of them.
"We have great confidence, we haven't done anything yet," Wilson stated. "We're obviously sitting here at 6-2, which is a great thing, but it doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean anything when we look back at it all. We got to be making sure that we are staying focused on the next task and that's to take care of our bodies, take care of our minds, enjoy this with your families and all that stuff this bye week because we've got a surge ahead of us that we got to go get. There's a lot of great games ahead of us that we're not going to shy away from."
Wilson is obviously extremely experienced, and he knows what it takes when it comes to winning a Super Bowl. A team doesn't reach that pinnacle this early in the season, so Pittsburgh needs to stay humble and fight on through the rest of the 2024 campaign. Just four seasons ago, the Steelers were 11-0 at one point in the regular season, but they couldn't advance past the first round of the playoffs. Goes to show that regular season success isn't everything. The Steelers need to continue to improve and get healthy.
Pittsburgh has a difficult schedule throughout the rest of the year. When they return from the bye week, they will be taking on the Washington Commanders, who all of a sudden are one of the best teams in the NFC with Jayden Daniels at quarterback. Pittsburgh will also be playing all six of their in-division games, while also having dates scheduled with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.
It is quite the gauntlet to end the season, but Wilson is the right guy to lead the Steelers through it.
Steelers Are Seeing A Bit Of The "Old" Russell Wilson
Wilson was doubted by many going into the 2024 season, especially after Justin Fields led the Steelers to a 4-2 start. Many fans were against the change at quarterback, but it has turned out to be the right move. Wilson's play has opened up the running game, while also elevating the play of all the wide receivers in Pittsburgh. The quarterback almost makes it seem like Pittsburgh doesn't need to be aggressive in pursuing a wide receiver at the trade deadline.
Through his first two starts in the Steel City, Wilson has thrown three touchdowns, ran one in, and thrown for 542 yards. He has been an efficient passer who isn't scared to force the ball down the field, which is exactly what Pittsburgh needed.
