Through two games, Russell Wilson has played like he did 10 years ago when he starred with the Seattle Seahawks. His ANY/A is at 9.34. His best previous career single-season mark was 7.73, way back in 2015. Last year, Brock Purdy led the entire NFL at 9.01.
Like many, former NFL defensive end Chris Long thought Wilson was washed. That certainly doesn’t appear to be the case. Long owned up to being wrong on the latest episode of the Green Light podcast.
“I know I’ve already said this, but I wanted to make sure. This is my public apology tour on one topic, and that’s Russell Wilson,” Long said. “I’ve gotten a lot of things right over the last year, this is one that I didn’t get right. I said on Dave Damesheck’s pod last year – they asked me point blank – they were like, ‘Will Russell Wilson start a playoff game again?’ I said, ‘No I do not see that happening in Pittsburgh. I think it’s Justin Fields’ team.’ Justin Fields didn’t do quite enough, and Russell might be perfect for what they’re trying to do. He might be perfect for this coordinator, he might be perfect for taking advantage of the shot opportunities – that we didn’t even know were there – the play-action, all the things we talked about when the move was made. I’m not saying that I didn’t understand why the move was made. If you listen to the pod, we were on the side that this is the right move a calendar year ago. Don’t let me skate on the fact that I was dead wrong about Russell Wilson.”
Greg Cosell of NFL Films thinks Wilson is at his best when he’s under center.
“Wilson at his core, that’s what he does best — when it can be defined for him… He’s not at his best as a shotgun QB,” Cosell told Colin Cowherd on The Herd.
Wilson has been exceptional in play-action. Wilson aligned under center on 41 of his 66 snaps in Sunday night’s win over the New York Jets, his highest under center rate in a game since 2016 (62.2%), according to Next Gen Stats. Wilson finished 8/9 for 150 yards on under center play-action dropbacks, the most such yards by a Steelers QB in the NGS era (since 2016).
Wilson’s vintage moon ball has been on display in two games. He hit a beauty to George Pickens in stride for a 45-yard gain in Monday night’s win over the New York Giants.
“It was a great route by him, honestly,” Wilson said of Pickens’ grab. “Great protection. He made a heck of a route. Almost toe-tapped, stayed in, scored there.”
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin praised the Wilson to Pickens connection, saying, “Again, I’m getting used to taking a look at it. I know if you give George an opportunity, he’s going to come down with it. But Russ is doing a lot of things well.”
