Time will tell how important the Steelers and Bengals matchup will be this week, as the team will be eagerly watching the Browns and Ravens game before. If Baltimore picks up the win, Pittsburgh has nothing to gain and will likely bench some of their starters. If Cleveland gets the upset, then all of a sudden the division is in play with a win.
For the sake of this post, I’m assuming the Ravens lose and the Steelers keep their starters in. If this game matters, then it will likely be a similar shootout style that we saw a few weeks earlier. Because of this, one player sticks out as needing to have a big game, as he was critical in the win to Cincinnati earlier this year.
Steelers need Russell Wilson to thrive again
Russell Wilson gave this offense a boost when he first took over, and the team rode that for most of the season. Suddenly, the offense was opened up, and the deep ball married well with the grounded rushing attack that forced defenses to have to choose to only stop one. This made Pittsburgh's offense one of the best in that stretch.
That pace naturally slowed down, and it really faltered with George Pickens out of the picture. Even with his return against the Chiefs, Wilson still lacked the earlier success that he had with this team. The Bengals will be looking for a win no matter what this week, and if Pittsburgh is playing for something, they need to get the better version of Wilson back.
While he doesn’t have to top 400 yards like he did earlier against the Bengals, consistent strikes mixed in with deep shots need to be on display. I want to see him take command of this offense again.
Need a spark? Let's go deep. Run game failing? Let’s go tempo and take what the defense gives. The first game against Cincinnati was the best offensive performance of the year for this team, and they need something to build off of for the playoffs.
If Wilson and the offense can replicate what they did a few weeks ago, then this is their game for the taking. If the same lackluster offense comes back out though, and Wilson continues to regress, it won’t inspire any hope for the playoffs, and it may even cast doubts on Wilson’s long-term future with the team.