Aggressiveness is the key to making Russell Wilson's success with Steelers last

The Steelers came into their meeting with the New York Jets with many questions to answer. They were able to overcome their injuries along the offensive and defensive lines to soundly defeat the Raiders in Week 6, but a significant change was about to take place. With Russell Wilson now healed from his calf injury, head coach Mike Tomlin had a decision to make. Go with the young and talented Justin Fields, or make the switch to the veteran Wilson?

It was no surprise to those who know Tomlin well that he ultimately chose to hand the keys to the offense to Wilson. He was named the starter after all before the calf injury flared up. Still, making the move after the way Fields had played was risky, especially with how often his rushing ability bailed out an otherwise lackluster supporting cast.

The decision, at least for now, seems to have been the correct one. The Steelers offense put up a season-best 37 points in the 37-15 beat down of the Jets, and Wilson was a big part of it with three total touchdowns and 267 total yards. Things started pretty rough with three three-and-outs in their first four drives, but the offense settled in by halftime and never looked back.

Now that we have seen what the offense looks like with Wilson, it's safe to say that he will continue to be the starter. But will the offense continue to look like this moving forward? More importantly, was Wilson even the reason for the explosive day?

Steelers offensive aggression is the key to continued success

The Steelers offense has been held back by the play-calling and conservative nature of Mike Tomlin more than anything this season. Justin Fields had been playing mostly smart football in his six starts, although his last two games saw his turnover-worthy plays increase. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was clearly trying to limit any chances of Fields throwing the game away despite his improvement as a decision maker.

That lack of aggression and trust seemed to fade once Russell Wilson was named the starter. Once he started to knock the rust off against the Jets, Smith made a concerted effort to push the ball down field in the passing game. The deep balls to George Pickens, the wheel route to Pat Freiermuth, and the big play to Calvin Austin were plays we hadn't seen attempted as much in recent weeks.

Fields had plenty of highlight throws in those situations, but many of them were called back by penalties. Either way, the game plan overall indicated that the coaching staff trusted Wilson to make plays that they didn't have the same faith in Fields to execute. Even though many of the plays were his receivers bailing him out by making incredible efforts, just the willingness to be aggressive in the passing game was enough to improve the offense.

Despite the big win and many choosing to change their tune on the quarterback change, I was unimpressed by Wilson from an individual perspective. He was often inaccurate, looked skittish in the pocket at times, and generally looked like a player who had missed a lot of time. That last point should get better with time, but the other issues may just be a part of his game now. Unless the playmakers continue to play out of their minds, I expect the offense to regress from what we saw this week.