Wilson's overall numbers for the game looked good, but it wasn't a good game. Look at their drives, starting with their first drive of the game, which is important for setting the tone and giving the team confidence:
- 6 and out (19 yards of team offense)
- 3 and out (8 yards of team offense)
- 3 and out (9 yards of team offense)
- 5 and out (14 yards of team offense)
- touchdown
- touchdown
- 6 and out (11 yards of team offense)
- 7 and out (32 yards of team offense)
He only led 2 good drives out of 8. On the other 6 drives, the team averaged 15.5 yards of offense. That's not good at all.
That Pickett penalty in the first half was in large part due to Wilson underthrowing the ball. Pickett had gotten behind the receiver, but he had to slow down because the ball was underthrown. Without Pickett's push, the defender probably intercepts the pass. There was a similar play in the second half where Wilson underthrew the ball again and the receiver pushed off to make the catch, yet the penalty flag wasn't thrown. Kirk Herbstreit commented on the ball being underthrown and the receiver getting away with the push.
It's telling that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has repeatedly cited the offense as a problem in recent weeks, and he refused to commit to bringing Wilson back after the game when asked about it.
I don't see how the team can justify bringing Wilson back as the starter when he showed in their last five games that he can't get it done against good teams. In those last five games, he averaged only 193.6 passing yards, his highest QBR was a 46.5, and the team didn't score more than 17 points in any game. That's just not going to be competitive in a conference that has Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow.
One thing in Wilson's favor for his fall 2025 job prospects is there are more teams that need good quarterbacks than there are good quarterbacks who are available. Based on that supply and demand, I'm sure he'll land somewhere. The question is will he be a starter or a backup. If he comes back to the Steelers (a big if), it's probably as a backup.
All that said, I'm glad to see you've finally admitted he's no longer among the elite. We've made progress!