Perhaps the best Monday morning spin from the Steelers' blowout win over the Jets on Sunday night came from Pittsburgh sports media guru Mark Madden, who stated that it's been so long since Steelers fans have seen a real quarterback that we had forgotten what one looked like.
Madden has never been one to shy away from unpopular opinions, but he hit the nail on the head on Monday morning in his X post. Since Ben Roethlisberger retired, what have the Steelers had in the quarterback production department since he called it quits?
The Steelers haven’t had a real QB in so long, we forgot what one looks like.
— Mark Madden (@MarkMaddenX) October 21, 2024
To answer that question, it's not much.
Steelers quarterback comparison
Kenny Pickett, the Pitt prodigy, played in 24 games and had 446 completions for 4474 yards, 13 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, and 51 sacks. Mitch Trubisky, in 12 games, had 184 completions for 1884 yards, eight touchdown completions with ten interceptions and 18 sacks. In 4 games, Mason Rudolph had 55 completions for 719 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and six sacks.
Justin Fields, in comparison, threw for 106 completions for 1106 yards, five touchdowns, one interception, and 16 sacks in his first six Steelers games.
Now, Enter Russell Wilson. In one night, he threw 16 completions for 264 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and one sack in one game. Based on his averages, if he plays the remaining nine games, he's on pace to throw for 2,640 yards and 20 touchdowns. The Steelers have not seen that type of quarterback production since Ben Roethlisberger.
Wilson won't even play a full season, but he could still put up production totals that eclipse all the other quarterbacks who have played on the Steelers roster since Roethlisberger's retirement. In that context, Mark Madden's X post makes more sense.
Nonetheless, he's right. The Steelers fanbase has grown accustomed to lackluster quarterback play and only assumed Russell Wilson might make things worse, not better.
Here come the Mike Tomlin apologists
In addition to Mark Madden's post, we also have this one from Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan.
He went off on everyone who had commented that Justin Fields should have remained the Steelers quarterback over Wilson, making it appear Tomlin has made some genius decision to suddenly roll with Wilson.
Big Ben. Wrong.
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) October 21, 2024
Terry Bradshaw. Wrong.
Bill Belichick. Wrong.
Poni. Wrong.
Mike Tomlin. Right.
Wilson was the right call.
Some criticized Mike Tomlin for keeping Russell Wilson on the bench too long and not turning to him in week four. Where were they then when those articles appeared online? Nowhere to be seen, apparently.
Take Mike Tomlin's press conference after the game. The last question asked Tomlin about making a bold choice to start Wilson over Fields, and Tomlin replied" That's why I am well compensated."
This was the biggest joke of the evening. Tomlin's choice to start Wilson was not bold. It was the necessary eventuality to see if Tomlin could finally get over the playoff hurdle without utilizing players drafted by Bill Cowher. Perhaps a bolder owner might have fired Mike Tomlin for not starting Wilson sooner or getting Wilson injured in training camp, to begin with.
Regardless of where you fall on Tomlin's decision-making spectrum, one thing was quite evident from Wilson's performance: The Steelers are back, both offensively and defensively. They have now become the most dangerous team in the AFC.
The AFC championship game could come down to a showdown between the Steelers and Ravens or the Chiefs. Take your pick. It's a great day to be a Steelers fan!