The Steelers' offense has two quarterbacks… and quite a lot of unanswered questions

CLEVELAND — As the flakes fell from the night sky and turned Huntington Bank Field right into a snow globe, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson dropped back and let it fly.

The pass, thrown with anticipation, hit receiver Calvin Austin III on time and accurately in the long run zone for the 23-yard touchdown. After failing to attain a touchdown for greater than seven straight quarters since Week 10 against the Washington Commanders, Pittsburgh had scored twice in lower than two minutes to take a one-point lead over the Cleveland Browns with 6:15 left.

.@DangeRussWilson ➡️ @CalvinAustinIII for six!!!!

📲 Stream on NFL+: https://t.co/COxKRnr6Mc pic.twitter.com/ucLP4kE2cM

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) November 22, 2024

It was a miraculous comeback. Until it wasn't the case anymore.

“The game isn’t won until you get on the bus,” Austin said after the sport. “So it was definitely an emotional moment (after the touchdown). We were all hype and stuff. But we knew we had a motivated team that was going to win the ball back.”

As it turned out, the Browns got the ball back not once, but twice.

The first time, the Steelers defense did its job, forcing backup quarterback Jameis Winston into a nasty pass that cornerback Donte Jackson intercepted with 4:22 left. But after Pittsburgh scored a three-and-out – Justin Fields replaced Wilson at quarterback on second and third downs – and Corliss Waitman punted for the primary time as a Steeler, the defense couldn't get off the sector.

Cleveland got the ball back with 3:22 left and gained 45 yards in nine plays. The Browns capped the sequence with a 2-yard touchdown run by Nick Chubb with 57 seconds left, then knocked down Wilson's Hail Mary as time expired to impress the Steelers 24-19.

A team that had made a press release by defeating the Baltimore Ravens just 4 days earlier fell to 8-3, leaving the door open to the highly competitive AFC North.

“Missed opportunities,” defensive co-captain Cameron Hayward said. “We have to eat it. They ended up making more plays. For some things, we can be clear about what was on display. Just take it, move on. I know everyone is pretty upset about the loss.”

The significant moments at the tip of the sport loom large: coach Mike Tomlin's decision to just accept an illegal contact penalty that gave the Browns a second third-down breakthrough on the ultimate drive after which gave them a timeout they would want later ; the coverage of the next third-and-6 conversion; the choice to tackle Chubb on the 2-yard line with greater than 90 seconds left as an alternative of letting him rating to save lots of time and get the ball back.

But the fact is that this game was lost much earlier, on the opposite side of the ball.

“We made a lot of mistakes,” Austin said. “To do that, all 11 have to look in the mirror and just keep going into the details. They are a good team. I have to give them credit. But at the end of the day we just had to perform better.”

When Wilson erased a 10-point second-half deficit against the Commanders two weeks ago, it gave the impression of the offense had finally figured it out after years of instability and inconsistency. At that time, the veteran signal-caller had led the Steelers to 31.7 points and 382 total yards per game in three starts. If the offense continued in the identical fashion, it was reasonable to think about the Steelers as legitimate Super Bowl contenders who could compete with Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen.

But it didn't go any further.

While these first three games have showcased the explosive advantage of Wilson's moonball, his veteran presence and his ability to make checks at the road of scrimmage, the last two have exposed lots of the Steelers' offensive weaknesses.

It's actually not all on Wilson. However, sacks have gotten increasingly problematic because they shackle the offense. This was obviously a priority when the Steelers signed Wilson, considering he led the NFL in sacks in two of the last five seasons. When he took over for Fields in Week 7, the Steelers initially performed well enough to guard Wilson, so it wasn't much of a red flag.

However, in Thursday's first half alone, Wilson was sacked 4 times because the Browns kept the Steelers' offensive line off balance with stunts and plays at the highest. Three of those sacks got here from Myles Garrett, including a strip sack that put the Browns on a brief field.

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 22, 2024

Even beyond the negative plays, Pittsburgh's offense has turn out to be boom or bust. Yes, once more Wilson's deep shot was a catalyst. He connected with Austin on a 46-yard bomb down the seam, hit Van Jefferson for a 35-yard gain and located George Pickens for 31 yards. These big plays helped solidify Wilson's solid stats, as he accomplished 21 of 28 passes for 270 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, for a passer rating of 116.7.

The problem is that the Steelers have a tough time ending drives after they don't rating touchdowns on those deep drives. The problems appeared on the opening trip. On third down, Wilson took an 8-yard sack on third-and-2, turning a possible 50-yard field goal attempt right into a 58-yarder that reliable Chris Boswell missed.

The Steelers, who’ve ranked twenty sixth in success rate (37.2 percent, in keeping with TruMedia) since Wilson took over, tried to make use of all available resources to maintain the offense going. However, one other drive in the primary half was stopped on the 40-yard line. This time they used Fields against a QB keeper on fourth-and-2 but failed and turned the ball over on downs. The offense also failed on the 30 (field goal made), their very own 46 (failed fourth-and-1 run by Jaylen Warren) and the Cleveland 9-yard line (field goal made).

“We had some really good, explosive plays on the field, throwing the ball with Van (Jefferson) — he made some great catches — and Calvin (Austin),” Wilson said. “And then for whatever reason we got stalled. We'll have to watch the film and see what that was. … We needed one or two more plays.”

Complicating matters is the unique quarterback dynamic. After using the Fields package for 3 games against the Ravens on Sunday, the Steelers showcased their mobile QB in seven snaps (plus an eighth that fell short as a consequence of a false start) on Thursday.

The results were mixed. After missing fourth down early in the sport, Fields provided a spark within the second half when he kept the ball within the zone and raced 30 yards down the proper sideline. That play helped get the offense going, and later in the identical drive, the threat that Fields would keep the ball within the zone helped Warren rush into the tip zone to stop the Steelers' touchdown-free skid and to stimulate the rally.

Jaylen Warren is in for the TD! The @Steelers reply straight back.#PITvsCLE on Prime Video
Will proceed to stream #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/aDPce0i8CM

– NFL (@NFL) November 22, 2024

The Steelers also got the ball into Fields' hands in a four-minute lead. It was an appropriate time to play running quarterback because the Steelers were attempting to burn up time. But on third-and-4, Pickens' deep shot sailed incomplete, stopping the clock and giving the Browns enough time to attain the go-ahead touchdown.

When asked if he would have liked to have been in the sport at that critical moment, Wilson was somewhat transparent.

“Listen, I always want to be in there,” he said. “It’s just the competitor in me. But at the same time, we have a lot of confidence in Justin, our team, our coaches and everything we do.”

It's not the best challenge for Fields, either. He said after the sport that he felt “kind of stiff” on his 30-yard run after standing on the sideline for your entire second and third quarters, adding that he felt like he was in the sport could have scored. When asked if it was difficult to leap into the sport mid-stream and with virtually no warning, Fields admitted that it was.

“But at the end of the day, that’s my job,” he said. “So you can’t complain. Whenever I get the chance and opportunity to go on the field and help my team, I like to do that.”

When sitting behind a keyboard and watching the sport from the press box, it's truthfully hard to inform what the proper balance ought to be. Fields has often been the Steelers' best offensive weapon, and his mobility could help them fix their red zone woes. Using each quarterbacks allows the Steelers to regulate on the fly when the offense needs a jolt or the opposing pass rush gets too big. On the opposite hand, it seems that rotating quarterbacks can sometimes disrupt the rhythm and timing of the passer.

Still, it's essential to keep in mind that the Steelers went 8-2 because of contributions from each players. If they need to prove that this two-game offensive slump was only a minor surprise and that this offense can actually provide a bonus within the postseason, they'll likely must proceed to depend on each.

Finding the proper balance and finding the flexibility to complete drives will help determine how far this offense – and the team as an entire – goes.

“We still have a lot of football left,” Wilson said. “We have many opportunities to respond at the highest level and at the highest level. I think everything we want is still ahead of us.”