The Pittsburgh Steelers are celebrating a shootout win over the New York Jets in Week 1. Former quarterback Justin Fields was determined to show why the Steelers made a mistake letting him go. Thankfully, Aaron Rodgers' stellar performance in the high-scoring victory will help fans get over Fields quickly.
Unfortunately, for the New York Giants, another ex-Steelers quarterback already looks like a disaster.
Russell Wilson played his first game with the Giants on Sunday. Tasked with going toe-to-toe with second-year quarterback Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders, Wilson fell flat... and his performance couldn't have been much worse.
On his first six offensive possessions, Wilson and the Giants' offense stalled out and were forced to punt five times. The only success he saw until late in the third quarter was a field goal after a 16-play drive.
By the end of the game, Wilson led his team to just two field goals in an embarrassing 21-6 loss. The 36-year-old quarterback completed just 17 of 37 passes for a mere 168 yards (4.5 yards per attempt). This led to a dismal 59.3 passer rating. Wilson was also sacked twice for minus 11 yards.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans already knew Russell Wilson wasn't the answer for the New York Giants
Over the final five games of the 2024 season (including the playoff loss to the Ravens), Russell Wilson led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a mere 14 points per game. Steelers fans couldn't wait for the washed-up quarterback to hit the road.
Now the Giants are learning what we already knew: Wilson isn't a good quarterback anymore.
Though he was able to scramble for 44 rushing yards on eight attempts against the Commanders, his passing from the pocket left a ton of meat on the bone, and he failed to show that he can sustain drives and lead his team to points.
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While we never want to overreact to one performance—it was his first game in a Giants uniform, after all—Wilson's despicable showing is about what Steelers fans could have expected. Thankfully for New York, the Giants drafted quarterback Jaxson Dart in the first round. And at this rate, the 22-year-old rookie could see the field soon.
There was a debate about whether the Steelers made the right decision letting Justin Fields walk away in free agency. However, nobody was in support of Russell Wilson returning to the team after crumbling down the stretch last year. If the Giants were paying close attention to Wilson in 2024, they should have seen this coming.